s2h team
Australian applied different gear in the second half to outplay and outscore India 5-1 in the fourth match today at Mate Stadium, Adelaide. With that, the fate of the series also decided. When India won the third Test the other day, and thus brought the Series to a precarious 2-1 status, it was expected it will try to win or at least try to draw today’s encounter to keep the Series alive till the last match is played out. It was not to be. However, the course of the match which it took in favour of the hosts, did not appear in the first half, scoring acts rested to last few minutes of the half. The match saw boh teams playing two different halves.
Dilpreet Singh scored the lone goal for India. Photo: Hockey Australia
India exercised caution and held ball possession from the beginning. They were seen attacking more frequently than their rival in the first half. However, goals were not coming till Dilpreet Singh bounced on to the ball in the 25th minute (1-0).
This goal, instead of spurring the visitors, woke up the hosts. With a few minutes, they struck a brace to return for the lemon time with an unlikely 2-1 lead. After that, it was all along for the today’s winners. India won five of its six penalty corners in the spell, though Harmanpreet Singh could not beat goalie Andrew Charter.
Jeremy Hayward (29′, 41′) scored twice in the home team’s win while Jake Whetton (30′), Tom Wickham (34′) and Matt Dawson (54′) answered for India’s solitary strike by Dilpreet Singh (25′).
The visitors could not hold on to the 25th lead as Australia responded with a goal in the next four minutes. It was in-form Hayward who converted a penalty corner in the 29th minute. Only a minute later, they put another one in the net through Jake Whetton, who got the Indian defence sleeping.
Even though Indian forwards made desperate forays into the striking circle in the following two quarters, they could not breach the home team’s defence. To add to their woes, Australia pumped goals at regular intervals giving India no room to bounce back.
Two goals in the third quarter via Tom Wickham in the 34th minute and Hayward in the 41st minute further put India under the pump. The final quarter too saw Australia ride on the momentum, they increased the lead to 5-1 from a penalty corner in the 54th minute, only to end the game in their favour.
“Australia were definitely a better team today. They played defensively right from the start and we could not capitalize on the lead by putting pressure on them. As I had said earlier, this tour has given us great exposure and playing against a quality side like Australia is always a learning experience. We now know the areas that we need to further work on ahead of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. “We will try and bounce back in tomorrow’s match and look to end the tour on a good note,” expressed routinely captain Harmanpreet Singh.