Memorable victory for India

By S. Thyagarajan

India 2 -- Australia 1

Germany 3 -- South Africa 2

PERTH, APRIL 12. A moment which should crystallise into history as an event to remember surfaced here tonight when India pushed Australia into the claws of defeat in the opening game of the second leg of the pre-Olympic hockey tournament before a large gathering.

At the Perth Hockey Centre, where more than a decade and half ago, Pargat Singh scored that memorable goal in the Champions Trophy and India recovered from a 1-4 deficit to finish 5-5, the team scripted yet another chapter to relate to posterity.

Eventful as the match was in more than one sense what is likely to be debated for years will be the Aussie goal, the equaliser at that, from a penalty stroke. The Australian umpire, Grime Murray, `awarded' a goal after Jude Menezes effected what was a spectacular save from a flick by Brent Livermore. Actually, the Malaysian neutral umpire, Ravinderpal Singh, in whose end the stroke was taken, allowed India to take the free hit after the `save.'

Grime Murray then `awarded' the goal for Australia penalising Indian goalkeeper for moving before the stroke was taken.

The decision, no doubt, stunned seasoned men like, Paul Lissek, who wondered whether such a rule continues to be employed, or ever used at all in recent years. ``I am in the Rules Committee, and I am surprised,' Lissek, wondered. Richard Aggiss, the former Aussie coach, also was unconvinced by the umpire's decision, while Terry Walsh, the Aussie coach, affirmed, `that's the rule.'

Predictably, Baskaran expressed surprise over the decision of one umpire being overruled by the other in a crunch situation like in the penalty stroke, especially when Murray's `award' was an after thought. Even assuming that Jude moved and saved the flick, a re- take of the stroke would have been appropriate. The Tournament Director, G. Vijaynathan, agreed with this line of thought.

However, the significance of India's victory should not be clouded in the controversy. If anything, the verdict could have easily been 3-1 if Deepak Thakur had connected the long hit by Samir Dad, a few seconds before the hooter.

Terry Walsh paid a tribute to the Indian defence and its tenacity in smothering the pressure almost throughout. It has been repeatedly said that India's performance in a high voltage competition is proportionate to that of the goal-keeper's. Today, Jude Menezes exemplified this, effecting more than handful of saves, that almost blunted the sharpness of the Aussie attack. Twice, he stopped Lachlan Vivian-Taylor with neat saves.

Indisputably, the Aussie frontline with Mike Brennen, Stephen Davies and Craig Victory conceived variegated patterns and controlled the trend. But the defefensive phalanx, headed superbly by the skipper, Ramandeep Singh was equal to the task. Never for a moment did Ramandeep put a step wrong. His equanimity inside the circle was striking. Supporting the skipper admirably was the wing half Sukhbir Singh Gill whose hand in giving India in the lead must be portrayed in panegyrical terms. Trapping the ball on the sideline, near the midfield, he swerved past two defenders delectably and provided enough space for Deepak Thakur. The latter after ambling in a few yards, unleashed a terrific backhander that left the Aussie goal-keeper, Damon Diletti flabbergasted.

The equaliser from the awarded goal came five minutes before the half time. A cross by Stephen Davies put Mike Brennen inside the circle. Goalkeeper Jude Menezes stopped the ball which rolled again to Mike Brennen. In a desperate attempt to clear the ball, Dinesh Nayak stick checked Brennen for the stroke which culminated in a controversy.

Shortly after the break, India forced a penalty corner which was converted with a firm drive by Dilip Tirkey. From this point, the Aussies accelerated with coach Terry Walsh effecting quick substitutions. There were phases when the defence came under severe pressure but it never lost the poise. Ramandeep Singh exhibited authority inside the circle.

Thirumal and Gill never allowed any liberties to the rival attack, though Jay Stacy was ripping in a stream of passes from near the 25 yard line. Stacy also kept under check the principal striker, Dhanraj Pillay. This really allowed Deepak Thakur to carve out space for himself in the rival area with Samir Dad playing a good supporting role.

The Indian frontline was somewhat weakened in the wing owing to the injury to Senthil minutes before the match. He received a cut over the left eye. He played though but as a midfielder, exchanging place with Mohammad Riaz, who had the mortification of being shown the yellow card by Murray Grime for a hard tackle on Troy Elder.

Viewed from any angle, the outcome today was a great booster to India's preparations for the Olympics. The last victory against the Aussies came in Champions Trophy in Chennai in 1996, and barring a stray win or two in a Test series, India has not beaten Australia in a tournament inside this country, after the advent of the astro-turf. India lost 2-3 at Sydney last week in the first leg.

There was a special ceremony to honour the 300th cap for Jay Stacy. In a brief speech, former coach, Richard Aggiss, detailed the Stacy's contribution to Australian hockey. The match also marked the 150th appearance for Paul Gaudoin.

South Africa's brilliant rally in vain

South Africa put in a heroic performance, recovering from a 0-2 deficit at half time to level at 2-2 midway through before surrendering the verdict. The usual German efficiency in the mid- field was not as perceptible as the verve of the South Africans, especially in the second half. If Germany gathered full points still, the credit should go to the goalkeeper, Christopher Reitz, for the number of saves he effected from Greg Nicol and Mike Cullen.

Dominating the exchanges in the first half, Germany struck from a penalty corner, Bjorn Michel hitting in the lead after more a quarter of an hour. Not long after came the second from Christoph Bechmann. The South Africans worked out a number of good moves to enmesh the tiring German defence. Greg Nicol restricted the margin from a penalty corner. Midway through Greg Nicol again deflected a pass from Emile Smith to share the honours. Minutes before the hooter, Christian Wein produced the match winner.

Thursday's matches: India v South Africa (3-30 p.m. IST), Australia v Germany (5-30 p.m.)

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Contrasting semifinal wins for Dindigul, Chennai
Next     : CLW holds PSB