The Indian men’s hockey team beat Ireland as expected, despite a few defensive lapses, to more or less secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics, with captain Harmanpreet scoring twice in a 2-0 victory in a Pool B match on Tuesday. Unlike the previous two matches, India consistently penetrated the rival circle and dictated play in the first half. That was to be expected, given that Ireland were the easiest opponents in this pool.
India were unconvincing in the second half, but the win means they are now on seven points from three games, with the defeat eliminating Ireland from the quarter-finals.
Belgium and Australia are both undefeated and have six points each. They will play each other later today.
India narrowly defeated New Zealand 3-2, after having drawn 1-1 against Argentina in their previous two matches.
Argentina and New Zealand will probably battle for fourth place in this group. The top four teams from each of the two groups will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Harmanpreet (13th and 19th minute) scored once each in the first two quarters, while the second half remained goalless despite both teams receiving many penalty corners. Ireland were wasteful and squandered 10 chances.
“We should not have conceded so many PCs in the second half. We have to work on that. But at the same time, we did not concede a goal and that says something about our PC defence. But yes, we cannot afford so many PCs,” defender Jarmanpreet Singh told PTI.
According to Sukhjeet, the team struggled to control the ball in the second half.
“We couldn't control the ball in the third quarter and they took full advantage of that. They are a good team, we expected a comeback. But we did better in the last quarter,” he said. India earned their first penalty corner in the second minute of the match when Abhishek made a move from the left and passed the ball to Sukhjeet Singh.
However, the Harmanpreet attack was blocked by an Irish on-rusher. Even on the rebound there was a chance, but Mandeep Singh lost the ball.
Harmanpreet had another chance by passing the ball to Sumit on the left flank, but his shot hit the post.
India didn't have to wait long for their first goal. It came from a penalty India were awarded in the 13th minute of the match. Gurjant intercepted the ball between two Irish players and sent it to Mandeep Singh.
A tackle by Shane O'Donoghue in front of the goalpost resulted in a penalty from the referee, which was converted by Harmanpreet.
The Indian captain doubled his team's lead by converting the fourth penalty corner in the second quarter after Ireland's defenders blocked two consecutive attempts.
It was clear that India was controlling the game on the field, but as the team continued to play aggressively throughout the match, many balls were not cleared properly.
Ireland were awarded their first penalty corner of the match on a questionable refereeing decision. A ball from Kyle Marshall struck Manpreet's body but he was standing outside the batting circle. The Indians, who had no further reference, protested but the PC stood.
India's goalkeeper PR Sreejesh blocked the shot to preserve India's 2-0 lead. Ireland played much better in the third quarter, earning eight penalty corners but converting none. There were a few defensive lapses from the Indian side but they escaped without any damage.
A better opponent could have punished India for the mistakes.
Ireland were awarded two more penalty corners in the final quarter, but the finishing was lacking.
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