India`s perennial habit of conceding last minute goal undid all the good work and the
visitors went down 4-5 in their third and final hockey Test
against Spain here.
|Last Updated: Aug 13, 2009, 03:16 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Terrassa: India`s perennial habit of conceding last minute goal undid all the good work and the
visitors went down 4-5 in their third and final hockey Test
against Spain here.
India came back from a 1-4 deficit to level the score but
Albert Sala`s 70th minute strike crushed their hopes, last
night.
Xavi Ribas (8th), Eduard Tabau (12th), David Alegre
(25th), Alex Fabregas (27th) and Sala (70th min) were the
goal-getters for Spain, while India reduced margin through
Sardara Singh (28th), Vikram Pillay (54th and 57th) and
Sandeep Singh (66th min).
India had received a 2-8 mauling at the hands of Spain in
the first Test before the visitors pulled one back by winning
the second match -- a truncated friendly of 20 minutes each
half -- by a solitary goal.
India now travel to Amsterdam for the final leg of their
Europe tour where they play Holland on Friday and Sunday.
The hosts began aggressively last night with constant
raids on the Indian defence by Tabau and Xavi Lleonart
supported by strong midfield overlaps.
India conceded a penalty corner in the eighth minute when
the ball struck skipper Sandeep Singh`s foot and Ribas made no
mistake as he sunk one low on the left of goalkeeper Adrian
Dsouza.
Indians soon conceded another soft goal as Tabau breached
the defence of Sandeep and Sardar Singh and beat D`souza with
a wrong foot shot in the 12th minute.
Rattled by early setbacks, the Indian defence and
midfield began ball rotation but the forwards Prabhjot Singh,
Gurvinder Chandi and Rajpal Singh were unable to penetrate
past goalkeeper Francisco Cortes.
Spain increased the lead when after David Alegre
converted the seconnd penalty corner.
The Spanish domination in the first half was complete
when Alex Fabregas picked up a loose ball in the centre and
banged home in the 27th minute to give them a 4-0 lead.
India had little consolation in this session except for
Sardar Singh`s goal orchestrated by Dhananjay Mahadik and SV
Sunil a minute later.
In the second half India came back forcefully with well
co-ordinated onslaughts. They reduced the margin in the 54th
minute after a combination sortie by Shivendra Singh and
Chandi led to a minus pass for Vikram Pillay who slotted past
Cortes.
Pillay was the man for India again three minutes later
when India were awarded a penalty stroke when he was felled by
Cortes after Chandi`s set up. The Pune lad made no mistake as
he narrowed the margin to 3-4.
India`s fourth goal and equaliser came in the 66th minute
when Rajpal and Arjun Halappa outwitted the Spanish defence
earning the second penalty corner which found the back of the
net off Sandeep Singh`s power packed dragflick.
In the last minute of play India built an offensive with
Rajpal and Shivendra but the former mispassed to Ribas who
built the Spanish turnover for Fabregas and Sala to clinch the
5-4 victory.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.