The Hindu : Sport : Germany too good

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 17, 2005

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Sport

Germany too good

S.Thyagarajan

AMSTERDAM: : In a contest that underscored the efficacy of systematisation and fundamentals over ineffective, even if eye catching, aesthetics, India suffered its second defeat in Pool A of the eight-nation hockey tournament for Rabobank Trophy at the Wagener Stadium this afternoon. The young Germans pitched in at right moments to gain a 2-1 verdict, after leading 1-0 at half-time.

On the face of it everything probably looked good with the mid-field labouring to keep the attack going and the deep defence endeavouring to smother the pressure all the time.

The frailty obviously was the inconsistent attack, devoid of any trace of vigour or accuracy. There was nothing to suggest that the attack was sharp enough to bother the Germans. While Gagan Ajit Singh looks like playing hockey from memory, there were traces of flippancy in the workouts of Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur. Interestingly, the only goal that India has scored in two matches here has surfaced from the penalty corner converted by Kanwalpreet Singh.

Without being extremely creative, the mid-field struggled to gain control. Viren Resquinha was the cynosure in his interceptions, even in a penalty corner. Bimal Lakra displayed shades of aggression, prompting a few moves as did Ignace Tirkey. But what really lent some ardour, if not asututeness, were the incisive movements of Arjun Halappa. Quite a few of his adriot passes paved the openings.

Programmed

The German emphasis was on trapping and keeping possession, using the flanks to rip open the defence. This they exhibited within a few minutes when a Matthias Witthaus slammed in a cross from Tibor Weissenborn.

Psyched by the early lead, the Indians really had to struggle to get into a rhythm. A stray sally here and there posed no threat to the German defence.

A move fashioned by Bimal and developed by Prabhjot Singh flopped when Rajpal failed to make anything out of it. To be fair, it must be admitted that the Indians had a better share of the exchanges in the second half. The three penalty corners they forced illustrates this against the none in the first half. An immaculate shot by Kanwalpreet Singh beat Schulte lock, stock and barrel. The equaliser did evoke a modicum of aggression in the attack. India almost surged ahead when a combined work of Bimal and Halappa ended with Prabhjot Singh fumbling in the end.

Match-winner

It was at this juncture that Germany slotted another goal that proved the match winner. Malik Guenther's quick shot was stopped well by Devesh Chauhan but Nikalas Meinhart produced a stunning rebounder for the lead.

Australia overwhelmed the Asian super power, South Korea in Pool A 7-1. Flummoxed by the flairand fluency of the Aussies, the Koreans, who trailed 0-5 at half-time, were further humiliated by two more goals in the second, making the one they scored meaningless. Korea had won the opening match against England 5-1.

The results:

Germany 2 (Matthias Witthaus, Niklas Meinhart) beat India 1 (Kanwalpreet Singh).HT.1-0;

Australia 7 ( Mike McCann 2, Grant Schubert 2, Travis Brookes, Liam de Young, Rob Hammand) beat Korea 1 ( Yoon Sung Hoon).

Wednesday's matches: Australia v England (8-30 p.m.); Netherlands v South Korea (11-30 p.m.).

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