Hockey World Cup 2014: India lose to England after conceding another late goal

The Indian hockey team

The Indian hockey team went dowm 1-2 to World No. 4 England in their second league match of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2014.

India, who had lost to World No. 5 Belgium 2-3 on Saturday by conceding a goal in the last minute of the match, repeated the same mistake in this game too as Simon Mantell successfully converted the Penalty Corner which was awarded to England in the 69th minute of the match. 

The Indian team started the match on a positive note as they got their first PC in the 11th minute of the game. This was followed by another two penalty corners, but they were unable to convert any and the scores remain steady at 0-0.

The English team on the other hand was left to hunt for the ball in all parts of the ground with India leading the ball possession by 69-31 till the 20th minute of the game.

A sub-par tackle from Yuvraj Valmiki in the 26th minute led to the English team being awarded their first PC of the match. Mark Gleghorne injected a stunning shot into the goal which gave England a lead of 1-0. But Indiafought back strongly as Dharamvir Singh hit a splended shot from the edge of the circle to make the score 1-1.

The second half started on an aggressive note as both the teams gave their level best to take the lead. India got a golden chance in the 40th minute when the on-field umpire awarded India the Penalty Stroke as Yuvraj Valmiki’s stroke was obstructed by the English defense.

The English were not convinced with this decision and they asked for a video referral. The referral clearly showed that the there was no obstruction from the English defense and hence the stroke decison was reversed back by the T.V. umpire.

The match then saw a dry run till the 69th minute of the game. With just one minute left on the clock, English stiker Simon Mantell successfully converted a PC won by his team.

India will now take on Spain on 5th June 2014 in their third league match of the tournament, with hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds fading quickly.