Netherlands power past sloppy Indians
Naveen Peter Raipur: Dec 1, 2015, DHNS
Hosts finish at bottom of Pool B after second loss
Turning the game around in a ten-minute spell, the Netherlands handed India a 3-1 drubbing in their final group game of the Hockey World League Final here on Monday.
Dragflicker Mink van der Weerden was the star of the show as he first slotted in his side’s opening goal in the 36th minute and later turned provider for Mirco Pruijser with a brilliant assist to double the advantage in the 43rd minute.
Though the Roelant Oltmans-coached side pulled one back through a Chinglensana Singh strike in the 47th minute, Roel Bovendeert scored for the defending champions in the 54th minute to put the result beyond any doubt. The loss meant the Indians finished at the bottom of Pool B with just a point, and will take on the Pool A toppers in the quarterfinals which begins on Wednesday.
The Indians had started off from where they left off in their game against Germany, as they threatened the opposition goal with incessant waves of attack.
Making a handful of entries into the Dutch circle from the start, India’s first real chance came in the ninth minute. Fed with a delightful cross from Manpreet Singh, Danish Mujtaba beat his man on the turn to set up forward Akashdeep Singh. The 21-year-old striker, however, couldn’t garner much from the move as his hit found the Dutch keeper Jaap Stockmann who pushed the ball away to safety. Minutes later, the Indians once again found themselves close to taking the lead. This time, it was the misfiring Ramandeep Singh who failed to beat the Dutch goalkeeper after Dharamvir Singh had found him inside the striking circle with his cross.
Barring their goal, that was the best India could muster from the tie as the World number three side imposed themselves firmly on the game in the second half. Playing his 100th game for the national side, Karnataka player V R Raghunath had a terrible time in the defence as his error inside the penalty area resulted in the first penalty corner of the game.
The Dutch made sure that they used the opportunity to its fullest as a Van der Weerden dragflick flew past goalkeeper P R Sreejesh into the back of the net to hand the defending champions the lead.
Minutes later, Van der Weerden was once again in the thick of action as the 27-year-old found an unmarked Pruijser inside the Indian circle who beat Sreejesh to slot in his sides’ second.
Not rattled by the quick goals, the Indians continued with their attacking approach. And it yielded the Sardar Singh-led side returns as Chinglensana found the back of the net from a short-corner.
Though the Dutch keeper Stockmann had parried away the Rupinder Pal Singh flick, he had no answers to the Chinglensana’s ferocious slap as India pulled one back to raise hopes of a comeback. But any change in fortunes were not on the cards as Bovendeert beat Sreejesh on his near post to slot in his sides’ third goal as the Dutch climbed to the top of Pool B with the win.
Later, Argentina continued their fine run with a 3-1 win over Germany.
Results: Pool B Netherlands: 3 (Mink van der Weerden 36th, Mirco Pruijser 43rd, Roel Bovendeert 54th) bt India: 1 (Chinglensana Singh 47th). Argentina: 3 (Gonzalo Peillat 17th minute, 51st minute, Matias Paredes 50th) bt Germany: 1 (Niklas Wellen 26th minute) Today’s fixture: Australia vs Canada (6:30 pm); Great Britain vs Belgium (8:30 pm).
Dragflicker Mink van der Weerden was the star of the show as he first slotted in his side’s opening goal in the 36th minute and later turned provider for Mirco Pruijser with a brilliant assist to double the advantage in the 43rd minute.
Though the Roelant Oltmans-coached side pulled one back through a Chinglensana Singh strike in the 47th minute, Roel Bovendeert scored for the defending champions in the 54th minute to put the result beyond any doubt. The loss meant the Indians finished at the bottom of Pool B with just a point, and will take on the Pool A toppers in the quarterfinals which begins on Wednesday.
The Indians had started off from where they left off in their game against Germany, as they threatened the opposition goal with incessant waves of attack.
Making a handful of entries into the Dutch circle from the start, India’s first real chance came in the ninth minute. Fed with a delightful cross from Manpreet Singh, Danish Mujtaba beat his man on the turn to set up forward Akashdeep Singh. The 21-year-old striker, however, couldn’t garner much from the move as his hit found the Dutch keeper Jaap Stockmann who pushed the ball away to safety. Minutes later, the Indians once again found themselves close to taking the lead. This time, it was the misfiring Ramandeep Singh who failed to beat the Dutch goalkeeper after Dharamvir Singh had found him inside the striking circle with his cross.
Barring their goal, that was the best India could muster from the tie as the World number three side imposed themselves firmly on the game in the second half. Playing his 100th game for the national side, Karnataka player V R Raghunath had a terrible time in the defence as his error inside the penalty area resulted in the first penalty corner of the game.
The Dutch made sure that they used the opportunity to its fullest as a Van der Weerden dragflick flew past goalkeeper P R Sreejesh into the back of the net to hand the defending champions the lead.
Minutes later, Van der Weerden was once again in the thick of action as the 27-year-old found an unmarked Pruijser inside the Indian circle who beat Sreejesh to slot in his sides’ second.
Not rattled by the quick goals, the Indians continued with their attacking approach. And it yielded the Sardar Singh-led side returns as Chinglensana found the back of the net from a short-corner.
Though the Dutch keeper Stockmann had parried away the Rupinder Pal Singh flick, he had no answers to the Chinglensana’s ferocious slap as India pulled one back to raise hopes of a comeback. But any change in fortunes were not on the cards as Bovendeert beat Sreejesh on his near post to slot in his sides’ third goal as the Dutch climbed to the top of Pool B with the win.
Later, Argentina continued their fine run with a 3-1 win over Germany.
Results: Pool B Netherlands: 3 (Mink van der Weerden 36th, Mirco Pruijser 43rd, Roel Bovendeert 54th) bt India: 1 (Chinglensana Singh 47th). Argentina: 3 (Gonzalo Peillat 17th minute, 51st minute, Matias Paredes 50th) bt Germany: 1 (Niklas Wellen 26th minute) Today’s fixture: Australia vs Canada (6:30 pm); Great Britain vs Belgium (8:30 pm).
No comments:
Post a Comment