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Sticking to the tradition of conceding last minute goals, India once again succumbed to defeat against England in the Rabobank Hockey World Cup thanks to a goal by Simon Mantell in the final minute of play. With this defeat, India’s World Cup campaign has come to an end with no hope of making it to semi-finals of the tournament.
Learning some lessons from the last game, India started the game on a promising note, enjoying early possession and dominating England in every department of the game. That early domination did give results as India won three penalty corners in the first half to give a scare to the English players. But India failed to convert any of them as the injector failed to deliver the ball properly to the players.
England made India pay for not taking early advantage when Mark Gleghorne converted the penalty corner given away by Yuvraj Walmiki for making a bad tackle. Conceding a goal against the run of play did not affect the Indian team as they took just four minutes to score and bring the game back to level terms. Dharamvir Singh latched on to a pass of Sardara Singh to score with a cracking hit from top of the striking circle.
The second half of the game saw England coming on the field with better intent and winning a penalty corner just four minutes into the start of play. But Sreejesh, in the form of his life, helped India keep England at bay and the score line remained at 1-1.
The Indian attack on the other hand created many chances to score, with Yuvraj Walimiki and Mandeep Singh both failing to convert chances given to them.
As has been the trend in recent years, India gave up under the pressure exerted by the opposition and gave away a penalty corner in the 68th minute of the game.
Ashley Jackson, who is nursing a shoulder injury, hit the drag flick which was saved by Sreejesh, but his clearance reached Mark Gleghorne who slotted the ball home to give England the lead in the 70th minute of the game and ending any chance for India to score and salvage a draw.
For India, Sardara Singh turned out to be the best player as his play created many chances for the Indian attackers to score. He was ably supported by Gurbaj Singh who took over Sardara’s defensive duties to allow Sardara play more freely. Another notable mention is of P R Sreejesh, who despite ending on the losing side in the last two games, has played a blinder in the tournament. His inspiring performance has also had some effect on other Indian players.
With this defeat India’s campaign in the World Cup has come to an end after as there is no way for India to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament
Player of the match: Sardara Singh
