Hockey: Six matches, six defeats as Craig Fulton's India continue to struggle in FIH Pro League; lose 2-3 again vs Australia
In tennis terms, the Indian men's hockey team have been handed a bagel set – 0-6 in their last six matches of the FIH Pro League over the last couple of weeks – but most of those six games have gone to deuce or 30-40 at least. They haven't been able to break their opponents or hold serve on their own and that reflects on the scoreboard.
It has been a strange run for the Tokyo and Paris Olympics bronze medallists, and the 2-3 defeat on Sunday in Antwerp against their nemesis Australia, is probably the only match where they have been outplayed. And yet, the margin of defeat in all six matches has been a solitary goal.
Before this match, head coach Craig Fulton was asked if the 2-3 defeat earlier on Saturday against Australia was one of the most difficult ones to handle. You could make a strong case for it being so because India led 2-0 before squandering the advantage in the second half. But Fulton said, 'No, no, I think we played well. We had some good moments, but didn't really finish off what we started. We're learning at the same time, we're changing a few things, we're trying a few different tactics, but that's not an excuse.' He then added that he saw a good opportunity to bounce back on what was a special occasion for Indian hockey as Manpreet Singh completed 400 appearances, only the second Indian to do so. 'A huge celebration, so the focus is to rally around him.'
India did start the match on Sunday on the front foot and took an early lead from a Penalty Corner where – without captain Harmanpreet Singh still out injured – Sanjay converted a rebound. But the Australian response was swift and sensational as Tim Brand came up with a goal and assist in the space of a minute. First, it was a loopy finish over Krishan Bahadur Pathak after a weak save from the Indian goalkeeper fell kindly to him. And then the pace of Australia's attack sliced open the Indian defence, a simple but sensational reverse pass from Brand opened up a wide space down the middle and Blake Govers found himself in a wonderful position centrally, and he fired in a bullet shot.
From the outside, it appears Fulton's side are trying out man-to-man marking for longer periods in the game and on Sunday, Australia exploited that quite emphatically, playing their trademark fast-paced, one-touch hockey that left holes in India's defence, which otherwise might not happen if they employed a zonal system.
Even after the goal, the Australian intensity didn't drop. At the 10-minute mark, Craig Marais made a 360-degree turn to beat Shilanand Lakra, once again easily breaking India's marking again with pace of movement. The ball looped over, the whistle went, Marais caught the ball, placed it on the ground and resumed play, and in the blink of an eye, there was another opportunity that presented itself for a shot on goal, with both time and space favouring the Kookaburras. Marais put the shot wide but that summed up the intensity with which Australia were playing. It was like watching a YouTube video on 2X, while unfortunately for India, it felt like they were defending at 0.5X.
Australia kept the intensity high, and three minutes into Q2, they won another Penalty Corner. After not getting their setup quite right from the previous set piece attempts on the day, they finally nailed one as Cooper Burns got a wicked deflection with his low flick that Pathak had no chance of saving.
When the clock had 5:56 left in Q2, India were attacking Australia's byline down the right side with Yashdeep Siwach trying to find a cross into the danger area. 15 short seconds later, Australia had won a PC down the other end, a stunning counterattack – quick vertical passing, great movement across the forward line… and creating outcomes. Everything India's play wasn't.
Five minutes into the second half, India cut the deficit with a well-worked goal that would have pleased Fulton, not for the outcome alone but for the patience and persistence in the build-up play without losing possession. First, with his back to goal, Shilanand Lakra did well to stave off Australian pressure and managed to find Abhishek inside the circle. He then cut inside, beat a couple of defenders and played a fabulous little reverse pass. And from close quarters, Dilpreet Singh applied the finishing touch with a poacher's goal. Problem for India, these well-worked goals have been few and far between.
The tide was showing signs of turning in India's favour and Australia's unrelenting attacking pressure had made way to conservative possession. Five minutes into the final quarter, the Kookaburras had a Penalty corner that brought out a world-class stick save from Pathak, the faintest of touches from a bullet Govers flick deflected the ball onto the post and wide. India invited more pressure on them immediately after the restart as Hardik Singh was given a yellow card for a five-minute suspension. He was adjudged to have deliberately pushed the ball away after the whistle had gone, a decision that seemed harsh on replays. But it meant India couldn't apply any sustained pressure late on.
Maybe Fulton's thoughts might change after a sixth straight defeat, at least behind the scenes, and the streak needs to stop at some point. Questions about the squad selection are bound to be there as well. However, a little bit of context is important here. The FIH Pro League, despite the added contextualization of being a World Cup qualifier event now, is still not very high on the priority list of most teams, who see it as an ideal opportunity to experiment in a relatively low-stakes environment against high-quality opponents. And two more opportunities await against Belgium to stem the rot.
Scoreline: India 2 (Sanjay 3′, Dilpreet Singh 36′) vs Australia 3 (Tim Brand 4′, Blake Govers 5′, Cooper Burns 18′)
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