Hockey Asia Cup 2017: India dominated Bangladesh in 7-0 win, but need to do better on penalty corners

Even though India had never lost to Bangladesh in hockey, the match at the Maulana Bhashani Stadium in Dhaka had enough allure to attract fans to come in for a Pool stage match at the Asia Cup. But the enthusiasm ended there, and so did any stray thoughts that an upset could make the Friday a memorable holiday for the people in Bangladesh. The start was energetic for the hosts, and there were screams of joy when a shot from outside the Indian striking circle deflected into the Indian goal. And when Gurjant Singh seized a chance inside the striking circle, tapping in a cross in the seventh minute, one knew that a parade of goals would follow. The final scoreline of 7-0 for India was sweet and sour. [caption id=“attachment_4141939” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indian hockey players celebrate a goal during their match against Bangladesh. Image courtesy: Twitter @Asia_hockey [/caption] Looking back at the match, India should have scored more goals but you have to give due credit to a Bangladesh side that played their best hockey in the third quarter, and to an extent, in the fourth. They retreated, not wanting to give away any more goals. In fact, apart from the runners in the penalty corners, it was their goalkeeper Nippon Abu who put up a sterling fight. He was smart in coming off his line time and again to try and stop Harmanpreet Singh. Off 13 penalty corners, India could score only two. Against Japan, Jugraj Singh, the coach for penalty corners, said that India had three-four ones that they converted. But on Friday, Harmanpreet was on target with just one and another was an indirect deflection. The rest of the 11 missed could have led to a far bigger tally of goals. What it left was a sour taste in the mouth and a video session that could go on well into the night for the Indian team management before there much-publicised clash against Pakistan on Sunday. Bangladesh could have folded up early. But their captain Mahmud Rashel was right when he said: “I think we played better against India even though we lost by the same margin against Pakistan. In the third and fourth quarter, we fought to stay on level terms and try and keep looking for goals.” It was the perfect assessment from Bangladesh. But few Indian fans would disagree that had Harmanpreet been on target, this tally would have much more. Slightly perplexing is the issue of continuing with direct flicks despite knowing that five goals were in the bag. India’s master convertor seemed to have left his form back in the hotel room. Harmanpreet’s flick, which got him India’s seventh goal in the 47th minute, was top line and it sped into the top of the net. It was a penalty stroke that came after missing five straight flicks. Yet he is the top scorer for India with four goals in two matches. But if India make these mistakes against Pakistan, they could be punished. There was enough space for India to move around and control the flow. India kept the midfield tight which plugged any gaps. Sardar Singh put in another good display, and it was India all the way. Akashdeep Singh (10th) and Lalit Upadhyay (13th) were right in the middle of the striking circle and didn’t give any opportunity to Nippon to cut the angles. By the 13th minute, it was 3-0 up and the crowd was restless. They didn’t have a goal bath here. Holidays are not meant to see your home side get the battering. Few moves came in from Bangladesh and with only two forwards upfront, it was difficult to build up and execute moves. The midfield was too afraid of a counter and pace was a real issue for Bangladesh to tackle. India’s fourth goal came off a brilliant run-in from Gurjant, who sped in like a sprinter, and his reverse hit was deflected in by Amit Rohidas. Following that, there were four consecutive penalty corners for India, which were topped up with a penalty stroke that Harmanpreet converted. It wasn’t the first time that Harmanpreet has struggled and won’t be the last time either but just flicking away in hope is worrisome. Was the think tank too lethargic or did they just take the match for granted? At the break with a 5-0 score line, India trooped away looking to build while the hosts knew climbing back was impossible so holding out was their only option. With a lone forward upfront on the lookout for possible counters, Bangladesh now had a new strategy — save the situation and don’t concede. Yet India had 70 percent possession, three penalty corners and four clear chances to hammer home. Despite having a cushion of five goals, this wasn’t a team that wanted to relax. Even with Varun Kumar coming in, the misses continued. And when the third quarter finished, the Bangladesh coach must have been relieved and happy that tactically he was finally successful. India got their sixth at the start of the fourth quarter when Varun played an indirect, giving the ball to Ramandeep Singh, who slammed in perfectly. It took three quarters and eight penalty corners to get an indirect conversion right. There were still more than 12 minutes to play in the match. Two more penalty corners were missed before Harmanpreet finally got one right, the flick powering in to the top of the net giving no chance to Nippon in goal. At 7-0, the shutters were downed and both teams played it out. Bangladesh did try towards the end too, but with a lone forward, it’s easier to predict the end of the war in Syria than get a goal for Bangladesh. The Indian coach Sjoerd Marinje pointed out technical errors made by the Indians in not getting more goals after the initial five at the end of the second quarter. “Bangladesh were too far back and we didn’t create enough. At that moment we needed patience.” On the penalty corners, he said, “We did different things like Varun came in and we did a turn but this match doesn’t say anything about the next one.” Marijne was candid enough to admit that Bangladesh runners were good in defending the penalty corners. “It takes everything to click,” said the coach. “Sometimes the injection wasn’t good and not always did we stop it well. In the one that Harmanpreet flicked the goal, all elements were perfect.” Marijne was, however, happy that penalty corners were created and he did reply sharply on the margin saying, “We were not relaxed and what is enough? Yes, we didn’t finish our goals the way we would have wanted too.” Playing in an enclosed space called the striking circle can be daunting as that’s where things need to come together — in silky moves or muscular engagements. At the moment, Akashdeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep and Lalit Upadhyay are getting there, their one-to-one tic-tac sometimes making you gasp. Threading the needle is one thing but threading it consistently is needed in this tournament, especially against Pakistan on 15 October and then in the Super 4 stage.