New Delhi: If one were to label India's performance against New Zealand in two words, it will be 'Flop Show'.
Errors off Indian sticks refused to die down, seniors continued to disappoint and a frustrating coach watched in disgust the second consecutive defeat of his team at the Hockey World League (HWL) Final on Saturday.
The Black Sticks pocketed their first points of HWL, while India barely managed to score their first goal of the tournament in two games before the final hooter was sounded at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium with the scoreboard reading New Zealand 3 - 1 India.
Shea McAleese put New Zealand ahead in the 1st min itself and Stephen Jenness (40th, 50th) scored twice before Mandeep Singh got the consolation goal for India in the 68th minute, by when the writing was on the wall.
The match began on a fast note and India came close to scoring in the first 30 seconds itself but Nikkin Thimmaiah's deflection went wide of the mark. New Zealand took advantage on the break as McAleese caught the Indian defence napping before beating PR Sreejesh all ends up with a crisp strike.
But India kept up the pessure and earned back-to-back penalty corners (PC) in the fourth minute. Rupinderpal Singh, who wore the skipper's armband in place of Sardar Singh for the match, stepped up to flick the ball in; but failed to find the mark both times.
Both sides continued their attacking display but India continued to lose possession from position of advantage, allowing New Zealand to foil their moves. Sardar, who didn't start the game, had another bad day at the office and couldn't dictate play from the centre.
The first 35 minutes ended with the Black Sticks leading 1-0 but they managed to double the lead five minutes into the second half with a cheeky goal from Jenness. It was a neat deflection off a long slap from outside the 25-yard line and the ball found its way through Sreejesh's legs.
India can't say they didn't have their chances. At one stage in the second half, the possession was 50-50 and to New Zealand's nine circle penetrations India had eight. That highlighted India's poor finishing, which cost them the match in the end.
Birender Lakra in the 42nd minute and Nikkin in the 46th had excellent opportunity to reduce the deficit but poor finishing cost India dearly. Nikkin in particular had a lot of opportunities to score but his last touch let him down every time.
In the 50th minute, Jenness got his team an additional cushion when he scored his second goal of the night off another defensive lapse by India that allowed the Kiwis to extend their lead to 3-0.
The hosts continued to threaten in the last 20 minutes but without success until Mandeep got a consolation goal from close range in the dying minutes.
Sunday is a rest day at the tournament, after which India play their last match of the pool phase against world No. 1 Germany on Monday.
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