Photo courtesy of Pankaj Nangia / Action Plus ImagesA match between India and England was bound to bring out the crowds at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here in New Delhi. From the playing of the national anthem and throughout the most of the match the noise was deafening but electric.
Absent from the England line-up was key defender and penalty corner striker Richard Mantell, back in England awaiting his ankle operation (our latest information is that Richard and brother Simon are both being operated on on Monday), and as expected Ben Hawes propped up the defence alongside Richard Smith.
England had their best chance of the first ten minutes when Ashley Jackson hit a reverse shot just past the far upright. Iain Mackay went off injured when yet another flying Indian stick accidentally hit an opponent's face, this time less than half way through the first half. However, James Tindall made India pay when he tapped in a hit into the circle by Nick Catlin to open the scoring. And it was Tindall again who had a chance to make it two when a beautiful pass from Richard Alexander found him unmarked at the top of the circle. His snap shot though was too high to trouble the keeper.
As Mackay returned to the pitch with his injury patched up, India earned their second penalty corner with just three minutes to go, but James Fair kept out the strike by Diwakar.
At the start of the second half it was India who went closest, their captain Rajpal Singh just shaving the upright. However, England won their only penalty corner of the game and up stepped the little maestro, Jackson, to make it 2-0 and silence the crowd – no mean feat at all. Five minutes later and Jackson made it 3-0 after a goal mouth scramble.
The Indians were down but not out and the stadium erupted when a cross from the right was met with the stick of Gurwinder Singh Chandi to pull one back for India. Four minutes later and England were reeling as India brought it back to 3-2 with a goal from captain Rajpal Singh. No-one could hear themselves speak, let alone the shouts of the coaches from the sidelines, as the crowd urged India forward. Even when reduced to nine men after two yellow cards late in the match, India still found the energy for one last foray. Fortunately England kept them out and progressed to the semis for the first time since Willesden in 1986.
Today's other matches in New Delhi
In the heat of the sun, Australia's better finishing put them ahead of Spain at the end of the first half. Despite Spain having four penalty corners in the first half, it was Australia who took the lead when Luke Doerner fired in from their single corner. Australia defended well on their corners, saving two off the line to keep their lead intact.
Spain tried to put pressure on Australia in the second half, but again they squandered their penalty corner chances. It was Australia who added to their lead when a five man move ended with Glenn Turner diving in to make it 2-0. It was only in the last five minutes that Spain looked as though they had the will to win, but it was too little too late and Australia reached 9 points, equal to England before their match against India.
In the shock of the day, South Africa thrashed Pakistan by 4-3, much to the delight of many in the crowd. The only other time RSA and Pakistan met in the World Cup it resulted in a 5-0 win to Pakistan. At the half time break Pakistan were up by 1-0 with a strike from Rehan Butt.
It was the second half that threw Pakistan into disarray as wave after wave of South African moves resulted in goals. Their equaliser came from a penalty corner strike from Gareth Carr, but from then on it was never say die as they piled into the Pakistan circle. Ian Haley made it 2-1 when a shot from Thornton McCade deflected into the air. Thaine Paton made it 3-1 with a spectacular dive to meet a cross from the right and Marvin Harper added another when he smashed the ball in from the top of the circle. Pakistan had several chances to pull one back but they lacked the finishing of the South Africans. They finally made it 4-2 when Muhammed Imran scored from a penalty corner and right at the death they reduced the deficit further to 4-3 when, at the third attempt at a corner, after the final whistle, Waseem Ahmed walloped it in. He did not celebrate!
Summary of today's results (Saturday):
Australia 4 Spain 2
South Africa 4 Pakistan 3
England 3 India 2.
Pool tables can be found on our web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk
