Harmanpreet hits brace, India beat Olympic hockey champs Argentina
One goal in six matches: not a statistic you would want if you are a seasoned penalty corner specialist in international hockey. That is what Harmanpreet Singh’s report card read after six FIH Pro League matches in January-February last year.
A pandemic induced break of one year gave a lot of time to ponder, rest, train and get his act together. And that is what Harmanpreet did, whose dramatic brace helped India come-from-behind to defeat Olympic champions Argentina 2-2 (3-2) in a penalty shootout in their first Pro League match since February 2020.
Trailing 1-2 in the 60th minute, it was all but over for India at CeNARD in Buenos Aires. However, a corner earned by India skipper Manpreet Singh 25 seconds from the final hooter changed the course of a tense battle against the hosts. Harmanpreet converted the corner with an electrifying drag-flick just six seconds from the hooter to fetch the 2-2 equaliser, pushing the contest into a penalty shootout.
Though Harmanpreet and young Shamsher Singh failed to convert in the shootout, forward Lalit Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh and the experienced Rupinder Pal Singh scored to hand India a winning return to the competition, which was halted in March 2020 due to Covid-19.
Experienced custodian PR Sreejesh came up with three impressive saves to deny Lucas Vila, Martin Ferreiro and Ignacio Ortiz before Dilpreet sealed the win against veteran Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi.
The result puts India fifth in the nine-team league with 12 points--behind world champions Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and holders Australia. Argentina are sixth with 11 points from 11 games. A win in Pro League gets a team three points while a loss means no point. If the match ends in a draw in regulation time the teams get a point each with the team winning the shootout earning an additional bonus point.
“The biggest take away from this match is our fighting spirit; we never gave up. We didn’t lose hope until the last minute and fought back really hard to earn this result,” said Harmanpreet, who now has three goals from seven Pro League games. “We were fighting until the last minute and that is why we got a result here.”
First blood
It was India who drew first blood after a stalemate first quarter with a penalty corner in the 21st minute. Vice-captain Harmanpreet picked up a fine injection to fiercely strike the ball to the left of Argentine goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi.
The Olympic champions bounced back as they put the Indian defence under pressure with potential circle penetrations in the following minutes. Their efforts paid off with India conceding a corner in the 28th minute. Ferreiro was impeccable in his execution to score an equaliser though a field goal. He was also responsible for Argentina’s second through yet another corner two minutes later, ending the second quarter with a 2-1 lead.
At half-time, statistics projected Argentina’s dominance as they had better possession and had 10 shots on goal while the visitors had made eight attempts.
The third quarter was goalless with both teams keeping the pressure up. Though both sides traded short corners, neither could muster a goal.
The contest went to the wire with the teams stepping it up. Desperate for a win after losing to Germany in the double-header at the same venue last weekend, the Olympic champions were resolute in their efforts while India worked the yards vying for an elusive goal.
In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Harmanpreet slapped the ball from the top of the circle towards the goal but Upadhyay couldn’t get his stick on the ball for a deflection. Pressure mounted on India in the dying minutes with two of their key players—Varun Kumar and Mandeep Singh—sitting out of the game with yellow cards. But skipper Manpreet’s effort in the final moments ensured a successful outing for the visitors.
“We got lots of cards today so we need to improve on that. We need to keep that in mind so in the next match, we don’t get any cards,” Harmanpreet, who was named the Player of the Match, said.
Argentina have now lost four consecutive matches and will look to bounce back in the second contest against India on Sunday evening.
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