Hockey: Harmanpreet Singh and forwards have off day as Germany beat India 2-0 on international hockey’s return to Delhi | Hockey News

On the day international hockey returned to the national capital after more than a decade, India and captain Harmanpreet Singh had an off day to be beaten 0-2 a young German team at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Wednesday.The result in the first of two-match bilateral series, played on back-to-back days, was due to the impressive German defence and India’s experimentations from penalty corner routines and a missed penalty stroke the skipper.
“It’s part of the game,” Harmanpreet said. “The goalkeeper was deceived but made a good save. Overall we performed well, the way we managed the ball was good, but defensively we could’ve done better.”

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Germany made the most of Indian makes and went 2-0 up halftime. Had India equalised from Harmanpreet’s missed stroke a few minutes earlier, the team talk from head coach Craig Fulton at the break would have had a whole different vibe to it. But India paid the price for not taking their chances.
“After the momentum of missing the stroke, to concede again after that, where we thought we would have gotten equal… it didn’t happen for us,” Fulton said. “In the first 4-5 minutes, we had some good play, then we made one make, they scored their first goal. We got back in with a chance to score from a stroke, didn’t take it, and then made another make, it was 2-0.”
India started the match with a couple of ‘ohhh!’-inducing moments from the crowd but the first German goal, pretty much from their first attacking move, quietened them. Henrik Mertgens, on debut, put Germany up in the 4th minute. India responded well and had some bright moments in the second quarter, forcing a series of penalty corners. Amit Rohidas, Sanjay and Varun Kumar got opportunities to have a go, a couple of variations were tried, but even Harmanpreet couldn’t find the target.
At one time, it seemed India’s pressure had paid off, as Dilpreet Singh celebrated converting a penalty corner rebound. Germany successfully challenged the goal, at the expense of a penalty stroke, which was saved brilliantly off Harmanpreet 21-year-custodian Joshua Nnaji.
It was not the only time the youngster came good during the afternoon. He again made some big saves to his right in the second half to deny the Indian captain. Lukas Windfeder’s goal at the stroke of half time gave Germany the added cushion they were looking for.
Feeling the absence
In the first half, India clearly missed regular vice-captain Hardik Singh in midfield, as he usually sets the tempo for the team’s attacking play.
“You look at what he can bring. The speed and the ability through the zone and his aerials, of course,” Fulton said. “We’re in a different phase. It wasn’t too bad, but there was not much fire up front.”

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In the third quarter, Harmanpreet nearly came up with a collector’s item. With India pushing forward, he found himself in the attacking circle a few times. Controlling what seemed to be an overhit long pass, he showed exemplary ball control to drag it into his path from behind him and had a strike on goal that got half the stadium cheering. But the shot was just wide.
It would have been some goal, but it summed up India’s – and Harmanpreet’s – afternoon. On multiple occasions – including the final action of the day – the few thousand fans who had turned up cheered loudly for an Indian goal, but in vain.
“I think the first half was theirs overall but the second quarter was ours, in a sense,” Fulton felt. “We missed a few connections up front, we weren’t fluid. Normally we have a bit more goal shots. We are a bit more threatening, but we’ve got another opportunity on Thursday.”
Harmanpreet added, “We could have taken more risks, and could have fed more balls to the forwards.”

Off the field, however, there was little doubt who is the most sought-after player of this current Indian men’s hockey team. Harmanpreet was the darling of the crowds. His name received the loudest cheer during the warm-up, and ‘Harman, Harman’ was the only real loud player chant that rang out in high volume. A few hundred kids even stayed back long enough to catch a closer glimpse of him after the captain’s media commitments.