India scored a comprehensive 3-0 victory over reigning Olympic champion Argentina in the second FIH Hockey Pro League meeting between the teams in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Harmanpreet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh scored and helped India add three points to the two earned against the home side in Saturday’s 2-2 draw and win in the shoot-out.
The five points from the two games over the weekend enabled India to move to fourth place with 15 points from eight matches. The results saw India leave Australia (14 from eight) in fifth place while Belgium (32 from 13), Germany (19 from 8) and the Netherlands (18 from 11) are ahead of India. Argentina (11 from 12) is in sixth place in the nine-team league.
Interestingly, Argentina started well on Sunday and would have been ahead but for some excellent saves by India goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, who twice denied Martin Ferreiro. In an action-packed first six minutes, Nicholas Keenan slipped past Harmanpreet Singh to find Maico Casella but without goals to show.
“We were a lit bit asleep in the first quarter. We woke up in the second quarter. Controlling possession made the difference,” Chief Coach Graham Reid said..
Harmanpreet Singh converted India’s first penalty corner in the 11th minute and Krishan Pathak came to the team’s rescue again, sticking up a strong left hand to stop Nicolas Keenan’ backhand strike from flying into the top of the goal. It was a fierce shot but India’s goalkeeper was equal to the task.
Lalit Upadhyaya doubled India’s advantage when he showed quick reactions in the second quarter, pouncing on a save by Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi to slot home, giving the visiting team a deserved reward after a lengthy period of possession.
The home side did not give up and challenged goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the final quarter through gallant attempt by Lucas Toscani who dodged two defenders to set himself up with a chance to score. This happened when Harmanpreet Singh was cooling his heels with a yellow card offence with 10 minutes left to play.
India defended well under pressure and denied home skipper Pedro Ibarra’s penalty corner flick in the 57th minute. The victory was confirmed two minutes from the end of the contest when Mandeep Singh fired home from close range on second attempt, keeping his composure despite losing his footing when guiding a reverse flick into the net. “I think we defended well,” said Pathak, who was named Player of the Match. “Argentina is good in defence but we created a lot of chances. We scored the goals, so that is good for us. We have to work on a lot of things in defence but also in midfield. We have to learn from this match. Today we did a lot of good things, but we still have to work [to do].”
Image: Indians celebrate a goal (Courtesy: FIH)
