December 2, 2017 by admin

Pacy India surprise Aussies but settle for draw; Germany win

bhubaneshwar, December 2
Sjoerd Marijne’s fast and relentless India hit their first major hurdle, and almost cleared it. But not without a few realisations about their game and getting some idea about the challenges they will face over the next 10 days.
What looked like a hurdle they were going to run over at the start of the match, turned into a wall that took everything out of India, but they still couldn’t cross it. In the end, it might look like India’s match, and they were electric for most part in the 1-1 draw. But Australia were at their defiant best, especially as they had an ordinary game, defensively — making too many “errors” according to captain Mark Knowles.
It was a horrible start for Australia, who almost conceded two goals in the first couple of minutes. The errors could be attributed to the incredible pace India started at. Even though Australia had “expected India to come out fast”, the Indian forwards’ stifling pressure on the ball carrier in the midfield took them by surprise.
Interceptions were crucial for India to succeed at the top level, Marijne had said before the tournament, and his team did exactly that. Time and again their interceptions or steals led to dangerous counter-attacks.
But the Australians “reorganised themselves” and patiently worked their way into the game. They slowed the game down and, importantly, held on to the ball better. As they found a foothold, they started moving the ball and started changing the pace. Those were the times when the Indians lost their focus and deviated from the game plan. From being proactive and defending high, India sat back waiting for a counter-attacking opportunity. At times, Akashdeep Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh or Manpreet Singh had to gesture to the players to push forward.
Aussies pulling the breaks on Indian bullet train
That became the story of the match — India starting energetically after each interval, which yielded many chances, and Australia grinding down the pace to an amble before hitting with small bursts.
But they couldn’t find a way through the middle as India, for most part, were fabulous as a defensive unit. So the Australians started playing long and diagonal aerial balls to the flanks to find India on the wrong foot.
Australia’s changing tactics throughout the match would have been a lesson for India, even though their execution was far from the top level expected from them. At one point, Knowles was heard screaming “hold, hold” to Aran Zalewski, who still fired a hopeful cross into the circle.
It was a mixture of Australia’s poor execution and India’s fast, one-touch game — which they have started playing under Marijne — that led to the first goal. Matthew Swann’s pointless cross into the circle was intercepted before Manpreet Singh picked up the loose ball just outside his circle. His second touch took him past one Australian player, his third sent the ball to Lalit Upadhyay in the middle. Upadhyay’s second touch sent the ball to Mandeep Singh at the heart of the circle, and the wiry forward took just two touches to sneak the ball past the on-rushing goalkeeper. But in the next minute, India switched off and conceded a penalty corner, which Jeremy Hayward converted.
Germans edge out England
Germany’s happy times at Bhubaneswar continued as three years after beating Pakistan 2-0 in the final of the 2014 Champions Trophy, they beat England 2-0 in their opener of the HWL Final.
The Germans overcame initial nerves to muscle out a win against another defensive team. “In the first quarter, we were a bit nervous, and were moving the ball at a slow pace,” said German captain Martin Haner. That allowed England to dominate possession and mount pressure on the German defence.
“In the break, we discussed that we had to pick up the pace, hold the ball, and make them run more,” added Haner. The team did exactly that. The Germans became more proactive in defence. They put more pressure on the ball carrier, making more interceptions and stealing the ball often.
It led to counter-attacks, which were crucial in a defensive match. Mats Grambusch scored from their second counter-attack in the 19th minute. The goal helped Germany control the match better, while England lacked the cutting-edge up front. Six minutes later, Christopher Ruhr finished another quick attack with a first-time strike that blasted into the backboard. A two-goal lead was sufficient for the wily Germans to see the match through.