S2H Team
Gurjant Singh, playing withdrawn these days, came to the fore with a last-minute strike to break a goalless deadlock and Irish hearts in an FIH Pro League men’s match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Collecting the ball on top of the circle, he slammed home past Irish goalkeeper Jamie Carr to fetch India full points a day after a gutting defeat to Australia.
Until then, a rare 0-0 draw and a shootout for a bonus point seemed to be in the offing after Ireland displayed grit and gumption, strategy, and game management in their debut campaign in the league.
Carr and the Irish defence exemplified discipline from the word go. They stifled Harmanpreet Singh & Amit Rohidas at six penalty corners, forced three of their own late in the match, and came close to stealing a win.
After India forced their first PC in the third minute, Ireland held the edge in possession, preventing India from getting into their stride as the first quarter came to a close. Still, India broke free now and then but Sukhjeet, the forward in form, and Gurjant threatened to score before halftime but only after the Irish forced the hosts to circulate the ball frequently.
Akashdeep Singh had the ball in the Irish goal shortly after the start of the second half, but a referral denied the ebullient striker a goal after Mandeep Singh wiped out Carr’s challenge by falling flat over the goalkeeper in an attempt to win the ball.
The possession duel swayed India’s way but Ireland, formerly coached by Craig Fulton who is now guiding India, sustained an excellent defensive game much to the frustration of the partisan crowd. India, though, retained calm and composure and stepped on the gas at the outset of the fourth quarter. A penalty corner ensued, but Carr stuck out his right pad to foil Harmanpreet; minutes later, Sumit sent a back-hander wide.
Faulty trapping then cost India a vital second to punish a player-short PC defence and as the minutes ticked by the Irish, buoyed by captain Sean Murray, the tireless Daragh Walsh, and Shane Donoghue, could have entertained thoughts of sneaking a victory.
Gurjant on all smiles
The 11th-ranked Irish forced all three penalty corners in six minutes from the 52nd minute, the second of which drew Sreejesh to a smart save.
Ireland endured a green card in the minutes to follow and even forced a penalty corner but after that India, ranked No. 4, took over with a concerted press on the rival citadel. The pressure told and even as the Irish endeavored to close down the angles, the ball fell to Gurjant who unleashed the killer blow.
It wasn’t quite all over as Ireland called for a last-gasp referral that would have brought a penalty corner if upheld but that was not to be.
Australia, who wiped out a two-goal deficit on Thursday to beat India 6-4 scripted an ever bigger comeback by bouncing back from 0-3 to overcome the Netherlands 5-4 earlier in the day. The Dutch, however, continue to lead the nine-nation table with 15 points from eight matches. Australia are second with 12 from four. Argentina are third with nine from five while India occupy fourth with eight from four.
The Irish are at the bottom of the league having lost all four encounters. The teams now move to the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela for the next mini-tournament set to commence on February 19.
Interestingly, Ireland is in India’s pool at Paris.