— Photo: Vino John

SUPERB SAVE: Australian goal-keeper Stephen Lambert brings off a brilliant save to deny Germany's Philip White a goal on Saturday.

Chennai: A wet start it was for the Champions Trophy here, reminiscent of 1996 when Pluvious paid a visit to the venue almost every day. On a sombre setting, heightened by a sharp shower that sent a large number of spectators scurrying for cover, India struggled to make a match of it against defending champion, Spain, slipping to a defeat by the odd goal in three.

There were flashes that sent a wave of thrill, and an immaculate penalty corner conversion by Kanwalpreet Singh to restore parity before half-time.

If Viren Resquinha symbolised the essence of mid-field play, not whit behind was wing half Vinay or Vikram Pillay. A debate is well worth the time on the absence of Viren, who was injured twice in the match. Spain's fortunes surfaced during this time.

Vinay's promptings

Vinay's promptings gave the frontline some semblance of fluency with Halappa and Prabhjot Singh flashing into the picture now and then. Ravipal received vociferous approbation for the long passes he executed but none of them was made capital of. In the deep defence, Kanwalpreet Singh was stubborn, but the layer missed the experience and expertise of Dilip Tirkey. Neither Harpal Singh nor Xalco was adequate.

Somewhat surprisingly, Spain's approach was laboured, even lethargic until Eduard Tabau profiting on a defence lapse tapped in a cross by David Algre, the most hard working winger. The attack was individualistic with Tabau and Amat slithering through now and then, but the surprise packet was Santi Friexa.

Kanwalpreet scores

India had two penalty corners. The first was scored by Kanwalpreet while the second, a grounder by Sandeep Singh, missed the mark. Late in the day, India almost equalised when a move by Vikram put Halappa through but Gagan failed to connect the cross by the latter.

It does not mirror in full measure the ponderous phase of the Aussie team, especially in the second half.

There was a touch of fervour in the first quarter. Jaime Dwyer brought to the attack a filament of verve. The mid-field missed the injured Bjorn Emmerling, who is to return home after a knee injury.

Consistency was not Australia's strong point.

Dwyer's goal off a pass from Nathan Eglington elicited a volley of protest from the Germans, who indicated that the ball tore through the net from outside. Umpire Raghu Prasad stood by his decision after consulting his colleague, John Wright of South Africa. The Tournament Director, Ken Read, is reported to be of the view that the ball had come from outside net.

Eglington scored again close on half-time and Jaime Dwyer gave the finishing touches to a penalty corner flick by Luke Doerner after the break. Brent Livermore flicked in a penalty stroke that surfaced after Sebastian Biederlack came in the way of a shot by Travis Brookes.

The German sallies carried an element of punch but the Aussie defence, notably goal-keeper, Stephen Lambert, put up a stoic resistance. However in the final minutes, Christopher Zeller netted to give a modicum of respect to the score-line.

Holland stuns Pakistan

Fluent and forthright, the Netherlands overwhelmed Pakistan in the third match, despite the presence of skipper Saqlain.

The tone for the outcome was set by a beautiful goal by Matthijs Brouwer. But the second, which came not a long after was exotic both in conception and execution. A Pakistani raid was smothered delectably by Hoying. In a counter attack programmed by Hoying, Ronald Brouwer drove in and sent the ball across for a perfect finish by Teun de Nooijer.

What separates di Nooijer from the rest was evident to the audience from the elegant manner in which he led the frontline. He was brian behind the third goal which Ronald Brouwer struck shortly after the break. Rehan Bhat and Shakeel Abbasi kept the Pakistani attack on the move but the Dutch defence was solid. Shakeel Abbasi received an yellow card for a hard tackle on di Nooijer. A splendid goal midway in the second half by Mudassar Khan off a reverse pass from Saqlain reduced the margin for Pakistan. Minutes later Rob Reckers deflected a cross from Floris Evers for the fourth goal.

Earlier, the FIH president, Els van Breda Vriessman, inaugurated the tournament.

The results: Australia 4 (Jaime Dwyer 2, Nathan Eglington, Brent Livermore) beat Germany 1 (Christopher Zeller). HT: 2-0. Player of the match: Jaime Dwyer.

Spain 2 (Eduard Tabau, Pol Amat) beat India 1 (Kanwalpreet Singh). Player of the match: V.S. Vinay.

Netherlands 4 (Matthijs Brouwer, Teun di Nooijer, Ronald Brouwer, Rob Reckers) bt Pakistan 1 (Mudassar Khan) HT-2-0. Player of the match: Teun di Nooijer.

Sunday's matches: Australia v Spain (4.30 p.m.); India V Pakistan (6.30 p.m.); Netherlands v Germany (8.30 p.m.).

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