FULL TIME! India WIN 2-1!
It’s Nikkin Thimmaiah who scores not even 20 seconds after Korea’s equalizing goal to give India a lead they held in the final minutes of the match. The Blues appeared to flag a little bit on energy in the middle but they’ve pulled it back to take victory here on the first match of the day.
56’ GOOOOAL! And this time it’s to INDIA! Scoring in the same minute as Korea’s equalizer, India take the lead right back with that blinder from Nikkin Thimmaiah!
56’ GOOOOAL! This time it's to Korea as they equalize with J.Kim taking his second tournament goal!
52’ Kothajit with an attempt. Korea refer and lose their referral looking for the referee to grant a foot fault. It goes to the video umpire, who rules against Korea.
50’ First card of the match! Lee Namyong of Korea is sent off with a green card. Korea will be down to 10 men for the next 2 minutes.
FINAL QUARTER!
47’ Second penalty corner of the match and it’s to India. No dice. And again, and this time Harmanpreet is unable to hold on. That’s a missed opportunity but India are still in the lead in the final 12 minutes of this tie.
42’ First penalty corner of the game goes to India and they’re unable to build on their lead.
39’ GOAAAAAL! India leads 1-0
Akashdeep Singh passes to Mandeep Singh with some great team tagging and SV Sunil scores to take India into the lead in the last 5 minutes of Q3.
Korea’s marking has been very strong this match. India started proceedings well and now it’s continued!
33’ And there’s an attempt for Korea! It’s flicked away by custodian PR Sreejesh.
32’ India’s SV Sunil and Raghunath hit hard – but Korean defender Lee does well to keep it away.
SECOND HALF! Q3 commences and Raghunath has kept his energy levels up!
HALF-TIME! Scores remain at 0-0
It’s goalless so far at the match between India and Korea but it’s India who have led possession, shooting attempts and been on the attack from the get go at this match. VR Raghunath, Raghu, has starred in defending for the team, and going into the second half has said he is looking to ramp up and “come back strong" for the team.
VR Raghunath is everywhere today!
28’ Chinglensana Singh tries – and fails! Korea’s Lee Nam-yong is a bit heavy with that pass and that sends the ball flinging across the turf.
Final five minutes until half-time! India have had four shots at goal in the 10th match of the FIH Men’s Champions Trophy here in London. Korea have not had any yet, but appear to have ramped up the attack to match a fairly strong defense.
23’ An attempt – and a failed one. Akashdeep seeks out SV Sunil for a pass, but mistimes it!
Q2 and India are still leading possession! There are more scoring attempts from the Men in Blue, but a spirited pass by SV Sunil towards the goal doesn’t pay off. Scores are still at 0-0 and now Korea are upping the ante here in London.
END OF Q1! Scores at 0-0 with neither team able to score.
India have two shots at goal, while Korea have had none. The Blues have also led possession and in the final minutes of the first quarter, appear to have ramped up the pressure on their opponents. Given that they have lost momentum with the passage of time in their past few matches, will they be able to sustain this pressure? That is the key question going into Q2.
Final minute of the first quarter and there has been no score. But India have had two shots at goal, with none for Korea.
12’ Mandeep seizes and runs – and a brilliant display of teamwork as he passes it to Talwinder, looking to give India the lead in the last few minutes of Q1! Unfortunately for the Blues, it doesn’t pay off. But that appears to have put some pressure on the Korean side.
Lots of hard runnning here from both sides and Mandeep, who has taken a starring role in each of India's matches, takes possession!
9’ Korea's defense is pushing now to combat India – and a free hit to Korea! They take it quickly but it doesn’t go anywhere. India are currently leading possession, with 56% and they’re really scrambling to keep the ball!
India’s playing XI for the night:
AND THEY’RE OFF! The Men in Blue are on the attack straightaway here in London, and are pushing strong to keep possession in the opening minutes of the match.
7th ranked India take on Korea in their fourth tie at the FIH Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London, England today. Fresh off a 1-2 loss to Belgium at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre, India, at second in the standings, will look to come back and provide competition to table-toppers Australia, who appear to be running away with the title, as they have done all year. The Korean side will not be heading to the Olympic Games in Rio this August. Ranked ninth, Korea are the lowest-ranked team at the Champions Trophy behind seventh-placed India, but gave the team a hard-fought contest at the pair’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup matches last year.
Although India eventually finished in third place at the 2015 tournament, they were taken to a draw on two occasions by Korea, who tied them 2-2 in both the teams’ matches at the tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
India finished in second at this year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,behind a dominant Australia, who look also to be the frontrunners for Olympic gold. Firmly atop the FIH rankings, Australia have shown strong attacking and defensive skills to take a lead in the tournament.
India’s loss to Belgium was their first of the tournament. The side, led by star goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the absence of regular captain Sardar Singh, drew their first game against Germany 3-3. The Indians took an early lead against the third-ranked German side in that tournament, with Mandeep Singh scoring first in a game that would turn out to be rife with penalty corners.
That appeared to be a trend that continued in India's match against Belgium, with the rivals awarded nine penalty corners in India's third tie.
Although goalkeeper PR Sreejesh pulled off some mammoth saves, including one defense of two goals back-to-back, his efforts went in vain. Belgium had taken an early 1-0 lead courtesy Alexander Hendrickx, with Devinder Walmiki pulling off the equalizer just ahead of half-time.
Penalty corners would again prove costly for India. Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the final quarter, with Mandeep sidelined with a yellow card. It was a goal by Belgian substitute Truyens’, a standard one that Sreejesh would likely not have missed on any other day, that proved to be the final nail in the coffin for India at that tie.
Although they are ranked higher than the Korean side, India cannot afford to be complacent at tonight’s match given their history with Korea, who have nothing to lose and will likely play with a renewed force as a result.
India have already qualified for the Olympics in Rio, but will want to finish out their final tournament before the Games on a positive note.
