England score in dying seconds to consign India to another loss
India’s last minute curse continues to haunt them as England snatched victory through a Simon Mantell goal with just 75 seconds left on the clock. The match looked to be heading towards a 1-1 draw as play from both teams veered between brilliant and pedestrian. India were the livelier going forwards but England’s defence was resolute and while India always threatened to score the spectacular goal, in fact they were forced to take shots that were either wide, high or easy for goalkeeper George Pinner to deal with.
In the opening minutes Mandeep Singh and Manpreeet Singh kept the England defence busy with their darting runs and mercurial dribbling skills and two penalty corners resulted from their mesmerising creativity. Captain Sardar Singh was a constant thorn in the England side, but it was Akashdeep Singh who nearly broke the deadlock with a shot that whistled inches past Pinner’s goal.
England lost the services of Dan Fox when Rupinder Singh struck a penalty corner with force and caught Fox on the kneecap. he left the field on a stretcher and played no further part in the game.
The deadlock was finally broken when Mark Gleghorne (27′) scored through a powerful drag flick after Nick Catlin won a penalty corner. The lead was short-lived as just three minutes later Dharamvir Singh (30′) scored an extraordinary goal as he bounced it over Pinner’s head.
The second half remained goalless, but was anything but dull. Pinner was the busier goalkeeper, being forced to meet Mandeep Singh on the edge of the circle and then watching a rocketing shot from Yuvraj Walmiki whistle just wide of the England post. At the other end of the field Ashley Jackson and Barry Middleton spearheaded England attacks, but found Harjot Singh in good form in the India goal.
With just over one minute left on the clock, and against the run of play, England won a penalty corner and Simon Mantell was on hand to fire the rebound home, netting England’s second goal and, more importantly, three points. This is the second game of the World Cup that India has lost in the dying seconds of the game.
Coach Bobby Crutchly said: “I thought India played well; it was a tough game and there was some sloppy play from us in the first half.” Barry Middleton added that the team had “ground out the win and battled well right until the end.”
Crutchley added: “Ashley Jackson is suffering from a sore shoulder but with two days rest, he will be okay for the Malaysia game.”
Speaking after the game, India’s coach Terry Walsh said; “I thought both sets of guys played well. The reality is we have no points from two matches despite playing some really good hockey. Both teams we have played are ranked above us, but we have come close on both occasions. If you take a step back you can see that we are making progress. We are in this environment and we are playing the top teams, so we will benefit from that. The level we are playing at is better than we have been.”