Irish international David Harte was one of only 3 players who were retained by Dabang Mumbai Hockey Club for the recently concluded Coal India Hockey India League (HIL) following his impressive run between the posts in the previous season. The Alphas’ management paid a whopping sum of US $65,000 in order to retain his services for the 2016 edition, thus making him the most expensive goalkeeper to take part in the world's biggest hockey league.
The 27-year-old custodian started every match for the Alphas in this year’s edition, making some crucial saves in nearly every match to keep the Alphas in the hunt for the semis till the very last day. The match which epitomized Harte's contribution the most was Dabang Mumbai's sixth league match of the tournament against an in-form Uttar Pradesh Wizards. The visitors stunned the crowd when they took an early lead through a field goal by Swede Johan Björkman. However, Gonzalo Peillat halved the Alphas' lead through a sweetly struck penalty corner in the same quarter to lift the home crowd. For the remaining 3 quarters, the Alphas defended with numbers behind the ball in order to save their slender 1-goal lead. David Harte was, once again, the centre of attention as he saved whatever came his way, producing some extraordinary diving saves to help the Alphas register their 2nd straight win of the tournament.
A custodian’s position comes with a very big responsibility of guiding his teammates about the opposition players' positions on the field as they have the full view of the field from the back line, and thus instructing his players according to that analysis. This was the very first challenge faced by David Harte in the Alphas’ line-up, as the side he was playing with had 17 new recruits. However, Harte rose to the challenge and kept all his teammates on their toes by regularly shouting instructions from the back.
During the tournament, Harte was honoured with ‘FIH Goalkeeper of the Year 2015’ award for his outstanding display between the posts at the international stage while captaining the Irish national team. The Irish national hockey team qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics for the first time in their history and it was the skipper Harte who architected the Irish team success at the national level.
The Alphas are blessed to have such a complete player in their ranks who can be trusted to work with the youngsters and form a formidable unit around him. Everyone associated with the team will be eager to see this ever-smiling gentle giant don the Dabang Mumbai jersey for years to come.
