Germany took advantage of the poor performance of the Indian team and won 2-0. , Photo Courtesy: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
New Delhi: It was not a pleasant return to the national capital for Indian hockey as the men’s team lost 2-0 to Germany in the first two matches of the bilateral series here on Wednesday.
The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium was hosting an international game after a decade and around 10,000 people had turned up on a working afternoon in anticipation of a good contest between the two Paris Olympics medal winners. But the performance of the Indian team was not as per expectations.
The host team was off to a good start but there were ominous signs right from the start. There was a clear lack of energy and intent even in the opening minutes and the Germans, with typical efficiency, exploited a defensive lapse, succumbing in the fourth minute to a counter-attack in which Heinrich Mertgens, one of three debutants, scored. In the team, get your first international goal.
Four minutes later, Germany could have been 2-0 up, but the penalty corner was overturned after a referral and India got a goal, but Varun Kumar could not keep his composure and Sukhjeet fired the rebound wide. Fourteen seconds before half-time, Germany earned their first PC and captain Lucas Windfeder made no mistake as he headed past Suraj Carcera to double the lead.
India had chances but failed to take advantage of them. Apart from seven PCs and a penalty stroke, several half chances and a desperate scramble inside the circle, all were wasted. Varun, Amit Rohidas, Sanjay were all experimented with during the PC and hopefully this was part of coach Craig Fulton’s plan to develop a battery of drag-flickers rather than relying solely on Harmanpreet Singh.
The captain himself was also on leave. PS, coming on after Germany appealed against Dilpreet Singh’s opportunistic tap-in in the 27th minute, saw Harmanpreet’s weak push hit the outstretched pads of Joshua Nnaji Onyekwe, even though the German Junior World Cup winner dived the wrong way. yes. Onikyu, in fact, was impressive throughout, making a number of saves to keep the Indian attack, indifferent as it was, at bay.
The second half was much the same and even though they did not score any more goals, the German defense managed to thwart any Indian attempts with ease.
Result: Germany 2 (Henrik Mertgens, Lucas Windfeder) vs India 0.
published – October 23, 2024 07:15 PM IST