ENGLAND 3 (2) v INDIA 1 (1)

University of Birmingham, England, Wednesday, 29 July 2009

In torrential rain at the University of Birmingham, England recorded a commanding victory over India with goals from Ben Hawes, captain Barry Middleton and Richard Smith, who netted his first goal in England colours.

England got off to the perfect start with a goal in 29 seconds.

Two minutes later and England earned the first of ten penalty corners but Ashley Jackson’s effort was well charged down by the first runner.

India recovered from their disappointing start and responded in kind, earning their own penalty corner in the eighth minute. The ball out from Gurwinder Chandi cleverly found its way to Dhananjay Mahadhik courtesy of Vinaya’s dummy and Mahadhik did brilliantly to flick the ball powerfully across James Fair and inside the post to equalise.

The teams traded penalty corners again not long after but Fair’s save and another block of an Ashley Jackson flick meant the score remained 1-1.

From their fourth corner of the half, England set the foundations to retake the lead. Surbiton’s James Tindall shot powerfully from the top of the circle but after hitting the first runner the ball went off the side deep in Indian territory. From the resulting play England captain Barry Middleton netted England’s second. The ball into the circle bobbled off a defender’s stick and with India goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza struggling to readjust HGC forward Middleton pounced to sweep the ball home while lying prone on the ground.

The slippery conditions were making things difficult for the players and as they looked to strike back India began to reassert themselves in the match.

Into the second half and with the rain easing India missed the chance of the match so far after good work along the right baseline by Gurwinder found Prabhodh Tirkey in space at the back post but he blazed the ball over when it looked easier to score. In the 41st minute Fair did well to save another clever Indian corner and the visitors’ pressure nearly told soon after when a bobbling shot from Shivendra Singh hit the post with Fair beaten.

That proved to be the catalyst for a sustained period of England pressure that resulted in three corners in quick succession, beginning in the 52nd minute. First, Richard Smith’s low drag flick was comfortably saved by Adrian D'Souza before HGC pair Ashley Jackson and Simon Mantell had efforts charged down.

As the game wore on England pressed India deeper and Richard Mantell was presented a further opportunity from England’s eighth set piece but his low flick was well saved again, this time low to Adrian’s right.

With the clock running down England looked comfortable at 2-1 but Richard Smith made sure of the victory with his first ever senior England goal in only his tenth appearance. Jackson’s flick had been saved by the goalkeeper but as the ball rebounded out to the Loughborough Students’ defender he smashed it home from beyond the penalty spot to ensure England’s victory in this, the first of three test matches.

Speaking after the game, Smith said “It was definitely nice to score. I hadn’t played in the practice match here the other day so getting to grips with the pitch was difficult at first. Having missed the earlier opportunity from the corner I was pleased to get on the score sheet. As the game wore on it fell more and more into our hands and I think that showed in the end.”

Teams:

ENGLAND: Jonty Clarke; James Fair (G/K); Ben Hawes; Ashley Jackson; Glenn Kirkham; Iain Mackay; Richard Mantell; Barry Middleton (Capt); Richard Smith; James Tindall; Ali Wilson. Substitutes: Ali Brogdon (17); Adam Dixon (11) ; Martin Jones (9); Simon Mantell (13); Rob Moore (11).

INDIA: Adrian D'Souza (G/K); Prabhodh Tirkey; Prabhjot Singh (Capt); Sardar Singh; Gurwinder Chandi; Birender Lakra; Rajpal Singh; Shivendra Singh; Ajitesh Roy; Dhananjay Mahadhik; Vikram Pillay. Substitutes: Arjun Halappa (5); Tushar Khandkar (5); Vinaya V.S. (10); Shikara Bharat (6); Ignace Tirkey (8)

UMPIRES: Dan Barstow & Lee Barron

Goal Scorers:

ENGLAND: Ben Hawes 1 (F); Barry Middleton 18 (F); Richard Smith 68 (PC)

INDIA: Dhananjay Mahadhik 8 (PC)

For Official Result Sheets for the 3 England v India Matches click here