India recorded a thumping 5-3 win over England to book their berth in the quarterfinals of the Hockey Junior World Cup at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium here on Saturday.
Though the Englishmen went ahead in the 10th minute through a Jack Clee goal, that didn’t bother the hosts much as they rallied in style to slot in five goals before conceding two more — probably the only downside in what a was an otherwise perfect performance.
Parvinder Singh (24th minute), Armaan Qureshi (35th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (37th minute), Simranjeet Singh (45th minute) and Varun Kumar (59th minute) sounded the board for India while Will Calnan (63rd minute) and Edward Horler (67th minute) were the other two scorers for England.
Unlike against Canada where they took a while before getting into the groove, the Indians hit the ground running against England. Quick passes, swift movements and seamless transition were the hallmark as they raised the bar.
The Englishmen too matched the Indians stride for stride and could have went ahead when Horler found himself free close to the goal. But disappointingly, the 21-year-old hit it wide. The Indians could have punished England soon after, but Sumit found the side-netting.
The scoreline didn’t stay unaltered for long. Pouncing on a loose ball on the 25-yard line, Edward Way raced into the Indian circle beating four defedners on his way and found Clee. The forward ensured he didn’t spoil the opportunity as he beat the Indian goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya with a cheeky scoop that found the roof of the goal.
The early reverse ignited a spark that was missing in the Indian camp as they regrouped and threatened England with their every move. Skipper Harjeet Singh ruled the midfield while Mandeep Singh and Parvinder proved a constant thorn in the English flesh.
And it was no surprise when the three combined to pull India level. Though Harjeet’s cross from the right was parried away by the English ’keeper Chris Wyver, it traveled only as far as Mandeep who set up Parvinder with a simple tap-in. The Indian skipper was involved in two more goals as he set up Qureshi and Simranjeet through his defence-splitting through-balls.
India’s drag-flick duo of Harmanpreet and Varun too had their say in the tie, converting two of the five penalty corners that the side won on a foggy evening.
A little over-excited by their show, the Indians allowed the menEnglish score two more goals towards the end, something that head coach Harendra Singh would be keen to avoid in the upcoming games.
In the other Pool D clas, South Africa drubbed Canada 3-1. MeanwhiIe, in a Pool A, Austria thumped Korea 5-2 while Australia registered a hard fought win over Argentina.
DH News Service
Results: Pool A: Austria: 5 (Marcel Hilbert 8th, Pit Rudofsky 21st, 62nd, Oliver Binder 39th, Franz Lindengrun 60th) bt Korea: 2 (Joohan Park 35th, 56th); Australia: 2 (Mathew Bird 31st, Blake Govers 69th) bt Argentina: 1 (Maico Casella 42nd).
Pool D: South Africa: 3 (Kyle Lion-Cachet 26th, Ryan Crowe 41st, Walter Pfaff 55th) bt Canada: 1 (Brandon Pereira 21st); India: 5 (Parvinder Singh 24th, Armaan Qureshi 35th, Harmnapreet Singh 37th, Simranjeet Singh 45th, Varun Kumar 59th) bt England: 3 (Jack Clee 10th,Will Calnan 63rd, Edward Horler 67th).
Today’s action: Germany vs Japan (12:00 PM), Belgium vs Netherlands (2:00 PM), Malaysia vs Egypt (4:00 PM), Spain vs New Zealand (6:00 PM).
All matches live on Star Network