India settled for a 2-2 draw against Germany in a high voltage encounter on Saturday here at the 3 Nations Invitational Tournament. Mandeep Singh (45') and Sardar Singh (45') scored for India while Niklas Wellen (13') scored Germany’s first goal and Tobias Hauke (52') scored the equaliser.
With both Germany and India losing their first match at the hands of Belgium, there was no doubt that this was going to be a closely contested match and neither team disappointed. Both Germany and India raced out of the blocks at a frenetic pace, attacking each other constantly from hooter to hooter.
India’s goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya was kept busy in the first quarter with Germany winning their first PC in the 4th minute but Dahiya did well to come up with an impressive save and deny an early lead to the Germans.
In the 12th minute of the match, India came close to taking a 1-0 lead when forwards SV Sunil and Ramandeep Singh worked in tandem in the striking circle to take a shot on goal but Ramandeep’s deflection went wide. Soon after, though, Germany found success when Niklas Wellen perfectly deflected the ball with a good assist by his fellow compatriot to give Germany a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
In the second quarter, an in-form Wellen came close to scoring his second goal of the match. It was an open goal with no Indian defender posing a threat but his flick was off target with the ball going over the post.
Even as Germany pressed hard, Ramandeep found another chance to take a shot on goal with a good assist by Pardeep Mor but his deflection was off the mark. Germany were constantly attacking and the pressure was evident on Indian players as they made as unwarranted error which resulted in Germany winning their second PC of the match. But India’s Vice Captain Chinglensana Singh made a brave save to ensure Germany didn’t increase the lead.
The third quarter, however, belonged to India as they made great amends to get ahead of Germany. First, it was India’s young sensation Mandeep Singh who struck gold with an impressive strike in the circle to give India the equaliser in the 45th minute. Soon after, Sardar Singh wielded magic with inspiring dribbling abilities to carry the ball into the circle and successfully take a shot on goal. There was little scope for the German keeper to stop this one, and India celebrated their second goal of the match.
With a crucial 2-1 lead, India pushed hard to stay ahead of Germany but seven minutes into the fourth quarter, Germany equalised. It was Tobias Hauke who converted the goal. With just five minutes left for the final hooter, both teams continued to play on par with each other even as the score remained deadlocked at 2-2.
India’s Akash Chikte made a great save in the dying minutes of the match to keep the Germans in the hunt. With little less than two minutes to end the match, Germany won a PC but India’s defence was rock solid to deny them any opportunities.
India will play their next match on June 5 against Belgium at 18.30 hours (Indian Standard Time).
