Asia Cup: India held as South Korea show intent
RAJGIR: If coach Craig Fulton thought their 15-0 win over Kazakhstan was the necessary tonic for his team to rediscover their mojo, he would have to think again. A 2-2 draw to kickstart the Super 4s stage of the Asia Cup may not be a disaster but it continued a particular theme of the Men in Blue in recent months.
Vast sections of the match showcased everything that has gone wrong with this Indian side over the last few months. Critical match-shifting errors, an inability to finish chances and allowing the opponents to dictate the pace of the play.
There are multiple ways to dress up a draw against a side ranked 15th in the world but every path will lead to one uncomfortable conclusion — India, Asia's powerhouse over the last decade, aren't the prohibitive favourites they were made out to be at the start of the tournament. The draw has also magnified a sense of jeopardy into proceedings, if you are of an Indian persuasion.
Before the game, significant electrical activity over Rajgir meant the match had to be pushed back by over 50 minutes. A brief but heavy storm rolled through town and it challenged the drainage system at the brand new stadium. Once the lightning stopped, the small but atmospheric stadium was heaving, a few thousands jiving to popular numbers from Bhojpuri and Hindi movies.
That, though, was when the hosts were leading 1-0 courtesy a smartly taken goal from Hardik Singh, the team's oxygen. A perfect storm meant South Korean, ranked 15th in the world, first equalised before taking the lead, both via unforced errors in the D. For the first, Jugraj Singh was adjudged to have deliberately pushed a Korean body. For the second, a stray ball found Manpreet Singh's foot.
A 1-0 lead in the eighth minute had become a 1-2 deficit in the 14th minute. In hockey, losing leads and conceding multiple goals inside small periods comes with the territory, an occupational hazard. Previous avatars of this Indian team, though, knew what they had to do. They would dust themselves up, shrug their shoulders and get on with it.
But the team ranked 7th have displayed a sort of vulnerable streak when the scoreboard is against them. It's why even though their performances wasn't all that bad in the European leg of the Pro League, the results were iffy, not exactly a clarion call but a gentle nudge, a 6.30 AM alarm.
In the end, they did create chances but a profligacy of the forward line meant they couldn't capitalise on some lackadaisical defending.
To be fair to South Korea, they came with a clear gameplan and executed them to perfection. They only eight circle penetrations (compared to the over 20 the hosts had) but they first defender as a unit before breaking at pace. They were happy to put men behind the ball, get their hands dirty, maintain discipline at the back before a forward pass.
It was what China did and they almost came away with a draw. Now, South Korea have employed that same copy book to come away with a point.
On Thursday, the hosts face Malaysia, who started this phase with a polished performance against China. They know they can ill afford any more slip ups.
Game on.