The junior boys of Indian hockey have just been handed yet another 2-1 defeat by the home side England on Sunday evening. A tour that had started off on an emphatic note for the country in view of a string of convincing victories from the outset has now met with an unwelcome roadblock which has seen the tables turned by the hosts in striking fashion.
The very side which was routed by the visiting team 7-1 earlier this week came back strongly to effect a 2-1 win in their Friday encounter.
The Boys in Blue did well in the first half to ensure they do not concede first as was the case in their last game. In the 24th minute, Ghazipur midfielder Ajay Yadav put the ball past the English custodian and into the back of the net to fetch the lead for India.
Trailing 0-1, England earned a penalty corner for themselves almost instantly, which was driven home by Will Calnan thereby canceling India’s advantage.
Right on the brink of half-time, Ed Horler’s deft strike from open play settled inside India’s goal to make it 2-1 for the home team.
Having to chase their opponents for the remainder of the match, the Indians kept pushing forward and creating half-chances throughout the second half, but could not find a decisive conversion. The final result of 2-1 mirrored the scoreline from their previous clash of this tour.
Monday evening will see the two outfits face each other for the last time since it is going to be India’s 7th and final fixture of the ongoing tour.
