HWL2017: Germany beat England 2-0 in Odisha Hockey World League Final opener

 

Germany defeated England 2-0 in the opening match of the Odisha Hockey World League Final to start their campaign in a dominating fashion here in Bhubnashwar on Friday. Germany scored through Mats Grambusch (19) and Christopher Ruhr (25) with both the goals coming in the second quarter of the game.


Barring the first quarter, England played second fiddle to a rampaging Germany who continued to press on after a lacklustre start. England began brightly, consistently entering German half, putting the defenders to an early test. However, the Germans just about managed to hold on, absorbing the pressure. England's Liam Ansell won a free hit and Sam Ward got the deflection the ball went wide. Apart from that, England continued to press on as Germany committed silly errors and allowed England to take early control with the first quarter ending 0-0.


In the second quarter, Germany attacked more and it was England's turn to commit mistakes. But they weren't as lucky with Grambusch sounding the board in the 19th minute. Midfielder Martin Zwicker regained the possession in the German half and in a lighting turnaround, surged ahead unleashing pass in quick-time to Florian Fuchs inside the circle which drew England goalie forward. And all Fuchs had to do was simply pass the ball to Grambusch who gleefully put the ball inside an empty cage.


Cristopher Ruhr doubled the lead six minutes later thanks to Marco Miltkau's brilliant move from German half. He pushed the ball in to the England half and ended up finding Timur Oruz on the backline. Timur quickly responded, twisting and turning to pass it back to an unmarked Ruhr who did the rest.


Germany had gained control with tighter defence and regular surges not permitting England any chance to settle in. The frustration was visible in the final stages when England failed to press deep with the game heading towards a German victory. It was this growing frustration that perhaps forced Sam Ward to claim a deflection for a goal which resulted in a confrontation with unhappy Germany players who chided him for the move. The on-field umpire didn't award that as a goal and after inconclusive evidence, the TV umpire too upheld the decision.


It was a typical German performance and though the scoreline shows that they scored just twice, their overall performance was nothing short of utter dominance. Overall, they enjoyed 66% possession and penetrated the circle 17 times as compared to England's lowly 7. 




Source:TimesOfIndia