India pip Canada 5-3 after final quarter goal glut in Sultan Azlan Shah trophy
It was a contest between two teams who both have been winless in the tournament so far. The striking difference probably is that Canada have come out like the ‘whipping boys’ of the tourney given their 0-7 defeat to Australia, 0-5 loss to New Zealand and 1-3 defeat at the hands of Korea, while India had to walk on the ‘winless path’ largely due to the inability of their defence to avoid late goals (New Zealand and Malaysia made us pay dearly for that).
The big question that demanded an answer was whether India’s newly-appointed Dutch coach Paul Van Ass will rack up his first win in his new job against the weakest team of the tournament. His troops seemed keen not to let him down as Rupinder Pal Singh fired home a penalty corner in the opening quarter after Canada appeared like posing some resistance early.
The Sardar Singh-led side did not have it easy after the first strike and were made to toil as they held on to their slender lead at half-time. The second half saw the Blueshirts consolidate their position with Vokkaliga Raghunath whipping home a short corner, thus setting the stage for a much-needed convincing win for the Indians ahead of their big clash against world champions Australia on Saturday.
The 15th ranked Canadians hit back in the closing stages of the third quarter through Oliver Scholfield to raise visions of an exciting final quarter. Ramandeep Singh, who attracted a lot of flak for his missing a slew of chances in the previous games, silenced his critics scoring two quick goals to rattle up a 4-1 lead. But there was no let-up in intensity from Canada, who reduced the deficit in the 49th minute through Jagdish Singh.
Satbir Singh, who was drafted in for this tournament after a long hiatus, made it 5-1 as the Indians took their opposition to the cleaners in the final quarter. It wasn’t entirely a one-way traffic as Canada scored their third goal through Daves Jameson, sending out a clear message that the Indians cannot expect their opponents to throw in the towel amidst the barrage of goals. But the world number nine side held their own and avoided any likely prospects of leaking late goals and closed out a confidence-lifting 5-3 win.