Paris: The Indian men’s hockey team expectedly beat Ireland despite a few defense lapses to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, with skipper Harmanpreet Singh scoring a brace in a 2-0 win in a Pool B match, Tuesday. Unlike the previous two matches, India penetrated the rival circle consistently and dictated play in the first half. It was expected, considering that Ireland were the easiest of the opponents in this pool.
India were, however, far from convincing in the second half, but the win has taken them to seven points from three matches while the defeat has ousted Ireland from the quarterfinal race. Belgium beat Australia 6-2 to become the second team from the group to advance to the knockout stage.
India had just about managed to edge New Zealand 3-2 before holding Argentina to a 1-1 draw in their previous two outings. The top four teams from each of the two pools qualify for the quarterfinals. Argentina and New Zealand are fighting for the fourth spot in the Pool B.
But after the Black Sticks’ 0-2 loss to Argentina, New Zealand are stuck on four points and neither them or Ireland can overtake India on points. As a result India have qualified for the quarterfinals. Harmanpreet (13th and 19th min) struck once each in the first two quarters, while the second half remained goal-less despite both teams earning plenty of penalty corners. Ireland were profligate, squandering 10 chances.
“We should not have conceded that many PCs in the second half. We have to work on that. But at the same time, we did not concede a goal and that tells our PC defence. But yes, we can’t afford so many PCs,” defender Jarmanpreet Singh told PTI.
Sukhjeet said the team struggled to control the ball in the latter half. “We could not control the ball in the third quarter and they made full use of that. They are a good team, we expected a comeback. Yet, we did better in the final quarter,” he said.
India earned their first penalty corner as early as the second minute of the match when Abhishek made a move from the left and passed the ball to Sukhjeet Singh. However, the Harmanpreet strike was blocked by an Ireland on-rusher. Even on rebound, there was a chance, but Mandeep Singh lost possession.
Harmanpreet created another chance by passing the ball to Sumit on the left flank but his reverse strike hit the post. India did not have to wait long for their first goal. It came from a penalty stroke awarded to India in the 13th minute of the match. Gurjant intercepted the ball in between two Irish players and sent it towards Mandeep Singh.
A tackle by Shane O’Donoghue in front of the goalpost resulted in the umpire awarding a penalty stroke, which was converted by Harmanpreet. The India captain doubled his side’s lead by converting the fourth penalty corner in the second quarter. This was after Ireland defenders blocked two consecutive attempts.
Clearly, India were dictating the play on the pitch but since the team stayed aggressive throughout, many balls were not cleared properly. Ireland got their first penalty corner of the match on a debatable call by the umpire. A ball from Kyle Marshall touched Manpreet’s body but he was standing outside the striking circle. The Indians, who did not have a referral left, protested but the PC remained.
India custodian PR Sreejesh blocked the shot to keep India’s 2-0 lead intact. Ireland played much better in the third quarter, earning as many as eight penalty corners but converted none. There were a few defensive lapses from the Indian side but they escaped without any damage. A better opponent could have punished India for the mistakes. Ireland earned two more penalty corners in the final quarter but they lacked finishing.
