Sport - Hockey   

Indian forwards fumble; the Dutch delight

By S. Thyagarajan

Holland 2 -- India 1

HYDERABAD, FEB. 7. Innocuous finish brought India the ignominy of a defeat, albeit by the narrowest of margins, against Holland in the second Test of the Naval Tata Memorial hockey series at the Gachibowli complex here on Saturday. The teams meet again for the final combat tomorrow.

The first encounter on February 5 ended with each team scoring once. A little more thrust in the attack would have given India a different verdict, at least another draw. But that was not to be.

Due to the absence of Prabhjot Singh, who didn't play owing to injury, the frontline had to be shuffled and was woefully inadequate to translate the superlative work of the mid-field and deep defence into a meaningful exercise.

As in the previous encounter, tight mid-field work was quite pronounced. The centre of attraction in this area tonight was the energetic Ignace Tirkey. The confidence with which he baulked the rival sallies of Egbert Ho, Teun de Nooijer and Ronald Brouwer was exemplary. Equally efficient were Bimal Lakra and Vikam Pillay. But all the good work by the defence went waste, as the attack worked in fits and starts.

Gagan Ajit Singh was too well marked to get enough space to weave in and out. He was, in fact, forced to play on the wing as to get more area to work upon. Dhillon, no doubt, was gallant, but there was none to give him the support. While Sandeep Micheal struggled to get hold of the ball, Inderjit Singh and Didar Singh looked pedestrian. Didar Singh, who was in the field for a few minutes, frittered away a sitter in the second half.

There was a touch of professionalism and proficiency in the way the Dutch approached this match. Virtues of ball control and immaculate trapping were visible for all. An early goal from a penalty corner by Bram Lomans enabled the team to settle to a working rhythm. A lot of this was due to the excellent performance of the skipper, Jeroen Delmee in the mid-field. From start to finish, he worked like a beaver. He was a picture of confidence in tackles and in the execution of free hits, especially within the 25-yard line. It was one such perfect hit that culminated in the first penalty corner for Bram Lomans to hoist the lead.

Goalkeeper Guus Vogels displayed admirable reflexes to stave off a few deflections that Gagan Ajit Singh attempted. In the mid-field, Piet Geeris was an apt foil for Delmee. The Indian defence did not allow much leeway for the Dutch frontline, which was swift and sharp. Midway in the second half, Holland enlarged the lead with an impeccable penalty corner hit by Taeke Takema.

India did comeback into the match when Baljit Dhillon trapped a neat flick by Dilip Tirkey in a penalty corner and found the target with a rasping drive when more than a quarter of an hour was left for the hooter. But before this success, India frittered away a handful of chances.

In the first half at least three chances went abegging. A backhander by Ignace off a Viren Resquinha cross was smothered by Vogels who also foiled an attempt by Vikram Pillay. Inderjit Singh drove into the pads of Vogels and the Dutch custodian also saved a withering drive by Dhillon in splendid fashion.

India had made four changes from the first Test, utilising youngsters like William Xalco, Vinay, Didar Singh and Inderjit Singh. Even goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan was substituted briefly by Bharat Chetri.

Altogether, it was an exhilarating contest marked by fast and crisp exchanges. And interestingly, all the three goals came off penalty corners, and the teams had three each in the match. That India conceded only three compared to the seven in the early match underscores the efficacy of the defence line. What let India down on Saturday was the poor frontline work.

Sunday's match: Naval Tata hockey series: India v Holland, Gachibowli, 4 p.m.

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