India
is virtually out of the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup when they were
defeated 3-2 by Argentina in Ipoh, Malaysia this evening.
It
was their third defeat in the tournament and they have only one match remaining
– against arch-rivals Pakistan on Thursday night. They have six points from
five matches.
Indian
assistant coach Mohamad Riaz attributed their defeat to missing many sitters
throught the match.
“We
penetrated in their semi circle more than they did against us but they made use
of their chances well. Our defence was also slow in clearing the ball. Sardar
and Sarvanjit made errors and that cost us the goals,” said Riaz.
“Playing
Pakistan has never been easy and we need to win that match to finish as high as
we can. Making the final looks like an outside chance but defeating Pakistan is
always important for Indian hockey.
“We
aim to make up for our poor performances with a solid performance against
Pakistan. Its one match the players are always motivated to play.”
It
was a boring first half as both teams played listlessly in the blazing
afternoon heat that somewhat affected their performance.
Still
Argentina looked the better team as India was playing lacklusture hockey
although Tuesday was a rest day for all teams.
Argentina
took the lead in the 37th minute through Matias Enrique Peredes. And
barely had India time to catch the breath that Santiago Montelli scored in the
very next minute.
India
were shell-shocked and redoubled their efforts. They were duly rewarded in the
49th minute when Sardar Singh scored with a delightful reverse.
That
gave India the confidence to make more forays into the Argentina semi circle
but they could not put away the chances.
Argentina
punished the sloppy Indian defence in the 58th minute through a goal
by Gonzalo Peillat who converted a penalty corner.
Though
india reduced the deficit via a penalty corner converted by VR Ragunath in the
62nd minute, it was a little too late for them to salvage anything
from this match.
Meanwhiule
Great Britain burst the winning bubble of New Zealand, inflicting a 2-1 defeat
on the table toppers.
The
win gave them 7 points from four outings and they look odds on favourites to
make the final on Sunday.
For
New Zealand the defeat was nothing to be ashamed off as they were without two
key players in the likes of Simon Child and Ryan Archibald.
“We
had two key midfielders out today due to some knocks they picked up after our
last match on Monday. The two day break was not enough to overcome the injuries
and hence our midfield somewhat suffered a breakdown” said New Zealand coach
Shane Mcleod.
“It
was a much better second half performance though as we were back with our
normal flowing hockey. But chasing a two goal deficit is never easy against an
experienced side like Britain.
“On
the hindsight though we picked up some pointers that will help us in our quest
for Olympic glory this July. We could have snatched a draw but Andy (Hayward)
has been somewhat inconsistent but that’s not a major worry for me.
“We
still have two more matches to go and while defeat is always painful, we are
looking forward to the match against Malaysia tomorrow (Thursday) with
confidence.”
Great
Britain opened scoring in the 18th minute through Ashley Jackson.
And they doubled their advantage in the 27th minute when Matt Daly
scored.
New
Zealand had two penalty corners in the first half but failed as Hayward was off
form.
Hayward
finally found the target in the 62nd minute and will now look
towards their matches against Malaysia and Korea.
