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Indervir Grewal
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, December 10
India found the much-needed patience that allowed them to pick away at England and find an equaliser, before steamrolling them with relentless pressure early in the second half, which earned them rich praise from manager Roelant Oltmans.
“I was really impressed by the first 20 minutes of the second half, when they kept the pressure up and were very fast on the counters,” Oltmans said after India’s 5-3 win that secured them a berth in the quarterfinals of the hockey junior World Cup.
Mandeep Singh was at his pestering best, as he kept finding space in a packed English third with brilliantly-timed runs, winning two crucial penalty corners, one of which led to the equaliser. Mandeep was named the Man of the Match, but Oltmans’ choice for the award was captain Harjeet Singh.
“Nothing wrong with Mandeep’s performance but for me, Harjeet deserved it for the way he marshalled the team and set up the counterattacks,” added Oltmans.
Controlling the pace
England got off to a quick start, trying to find India off-guard. But within no time India grabbed control and increased the pace. England slowed down the pace and tried to hit India with small bursts. The two-paced approach got them an opening and one of the Englishmen ran through a horde of Indian players before setting up Jack Clee (10th minute).
India came hard for the equaliser but their single-paced attack didn’t break the ever-organised English defence. India then slowed down and started building up their attacks patiently.
However, England’s man-to-man marking was excellent as they suffocated the Indian forwards for space. Only Mandeep created the space, and one of his deflections was saved by the goalie. He got on the end of a long ball from Varun Kumar and created a penalty corner. The chance was missed but they earned a corner. A quick take led to a shot, which the goalie padded away, but the ball was shot into the circle again and after the ensuing scramble, Parvinder Singh slapped it in.
India kept bothering England but were not too dangerous. Right at the end of the half, Harjeet tomahawked in a high ball from the left and Parvinder’s reflexive attempt at a deflection brought the ball down and into the path of Armaan Qureshi, who tapped it in to give India the lead.
The 20 minutes
India started the second half with the same intensity that they had in the Canada match. Waves of Indian attacks were complemented by waves of roars from the crowds. Two minutes in, Harmanpreet Singh scored off a penalty corner with a low, hard drive. His angry fist-pump showed how much it meant to him to score his first penalty corner goal.
England tried to step out but the pressure from the Indian forwards and midfielders, led by Harjeet, resulted in counters. One such steal from Harjeet led to Simranjeet Singh (45th) scoring the fourth goal, which effectively ended the contest.
Varun converted another penalty corner in the 59th minute to make it 5-1. India then stepped off the pedal, conceding two goals which, incidentally, were deflected in off the sticks of Indian players after shots from the Englishmen.
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