India go down to Belgium despite improved show

Rourkela: The way the game began here on Saturday, it seemed as if it was going to be a repeat of the Argentina game.

But the Indian men’s hockey team found their footing to make sure Belgium did not run away with the game even after scoring four goals in the first 17 minutes — all from the penalty corners. Unlike the last match, India also found the target twice with Aditya Arjun Lalage scoring the first in the 24th minute while Harmanpreet Singh converted a PC in the 37th to the delight of the capacity crowd at Birsa Munda Stadium.



However, despite their better showing, the bottom line is India were handed their third defeat in as many matches as Belgium won 4-2 to make it seven wins in eight matches in the tournament.
Coach Craig Fulton was not happy with the start but was satisfied with the structure.

“We had a bit of a slow start. It’s never easy when you make one or two mistakes and a good team like Belgium will punish your mistakes. And that was on the PCs. So, we had a few too many soft turnovers that ended up in counter attacks,” said Fulton.

“We had better structure and we were more organized. They didn’t have any one-on-one. It was better. Now we have to add more detail to not giving away as many PCs because that was the difference.”

Earlier, India began well and created some good chances. Lalage even found the net once but it was ruled out following a video referral.

However, it was after this that the Belgian onslaught began, as they won three penalty corners in the last four minutes of the first quarter. Hugo Labouchere converted the first; Alexander Hendrickx struck from the second, and Arthur de Sloover made it 3-0. As the second quarter began, the Belgians did not take their foot off the pedal and grabbed their fourth PC two minutes later. Once again Hendrickx found the net to make it four goals from four PCs.

India, however, eventually pulled one back after Abhishek made a run down the middle and took a shot at the goal. It was saved by goalkeeper Loic van Doren but Lalage was able to scoop it out from underneath his legs and into the net.

In the third quarter, India improved a lot and did their best to hold on to the ball. They showed grit and fought back. They grabbed their first PC, too, after a good run by Sukhjeet Singh into the D and Harmanpreet was able to convert it.

They won another PC towards the end of the quarter but this time Harmanpreet’s shot was saved by de Sloover standing at the post. Vivek Sagar Prasad collected the ball and played it to Abhishek, who sadly failed to keep it on target.

India played their best hockey in the fourth quarter but by then it was too late. Fulton even took away the goalkeeper with three minutes remaining but they failed to find the target. The performance, however, should give India some confidence after their horror showing in the last game.


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