Saturday, August 1, 2009

Indian Hockey Team Started Their European Tour with 3-1 Defeat to England

India has got off to an unimpressive start to their European tour as they lost their first match to England 3-1. This was India’s first match under their new Spanish coach Jose Brasa. So, naturally, it was not a good start for the new coach as well. However, the only positive sign of India’s performance was that Indian players could create a number of chances, and had their forwards not missed those chances, the result of the match could have come in India’s favor.

India conceded a goal on the first minute when Ben Hawes scored for England. However, it took 7 minutes for India to equalize when Dhananjay Mahadik scored from India’s first penalty corner. Then England scored the 2nd goal thanks to Barry Middleton just ten minutes later. Indian players suffered a lot in the first half of the match mainly because of rain which made the turf slippery and the visitors faced many problems in adjusting with the condition. England was leading 2-1 at the halftime.

Rain stopped in the second half and India tried their best to equalize as they created a number of chances. However, England’s Richard Smith scored the 3rd goal in the 68th minute, and thus, ensuring an easy victory for the host. Two more matches are left in the three-match test series between India and England.

Related article:

Indianexpress

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