CHENNAI: In both Pro League games on Saturday, the visitors took the lead. In both games, the hosts showed considerable guts and a heart to come back and take home the points. If the women’s match — a 2-1 win with the winner with eight minutes to go — was a fine entree, the men’s pulse-pounding 5-4 win was the perfect way to finish the night.
Coach Graham Reid and his side have faced some recent heat, most of it unjustified, following some of their performances post-Tokyo. That noise was in danger of growing further with less than two quarters to go. The visitors, thanks to a hat-trick from skipper Marc Miralles, were three goals to the good. The hosts also found the dribbling skills of Enrique Gonzalez too hot to handle and he repeatedly exposed their defensive frailties in the first half.
Even though Spain carried a visible threat on the counter, India is always on a dangerous side just because of the volume of the chances they create. That was what ultimately made the difference after going down 1-4. They created enough chances to win the game multiple times over — they registered 34 circle penetrations to Spain’s 16 — but had to wait till the clock said ‘eight seconds remaining for the winner.
Spain’s women’s outfit, who had won bronze at the 2018 World Cup, ran the show in the first two quarters. Even though they opened the scoring in the second quarter, they squandered multiple chances to open their account before that. However, India, who were more in control in the second half, found the winner via Neha. Results: Men: India 5-4 Spain; Women: India 2-1 Spain.