Playing in front of a capacity home crowd as the second-highest ranked side, India was expected to have an easy start against USA but its road to an Olympic ticket got a lot tougher with a 0-1 loss on the opening day of the Olympic Qualifiers here on Saturday.
The team came into competition undefeated at this ground but the lack of experience and the pressure of performance with high stakes saw an erratic India falter. Numbers might say India dominated possession and shots at goal and lost by a solitary goal but on field, it was a disjointed team that made basic errors and could just not find a way past the USA defence.
India appeared unsettled all through the game. Instead of opening up space and spreading the field, the side kept trying to push through only from the middle and were strangely clueless and lethargic. Large parts of the ground were left vacant, the flanks were barely utilised and the forwards rarely fell back to defend or try to build up attacks, waiting instead inside the circle and even then often in the wrong position.
Lalremsiami was impressive in manning midfield and trying to find gaps upfront and Neha tried to create openings in the middle but there was little from others. The youngsters and local stars of the ACT triumph – Salima Tete and Sangita Kumari – were barely visible, Salima even guilty of getting a foot in the way that overturned what seemed like a goal. Baljeet Kaur, drafted in as replacement for an injured Vandana, only highlighted the latter’s absence.
Nikki Pradhan in the defence played a solo without long-term partner Deep Grace Ekka and the pressure seemed too much. Six penalty corners by Deepika and Navneet went waste. India simply wasn’t good enough – it was more about throwing everything at the target and hoping something would stick instead of executing a well-thought out strategy.
In contrast, USA was far more focused on the task, knowing it needed just one strike to take control. A goal by Leah Crouse in the 10th minute was disallowed but 40 seconds into the second quarter, Abigail Tamer stunned the stadium into silence. USA defended cleanly and in numbers, biding its time for counter-attacks and every time it did so, it threatened to score. With seemingly superior fitness and speed, USA was far more cohesive.
The other matches on the day played out on expected lines with former champion Germany registering an easy 3-0 win against Chile and Japan outplaying a defensive Czech Republic 2-0 in Pool A. The other Pool B match between New Zealand and Italy saw the former win 3-0 with Frances Davies scoring twice for the Black Sticks.
The results:
Pool A: Germany 3 (Selin Oruz, Jette Fleschutz, Lisa Nolte) bt Chile 0; Japan 2 (Miyu Suzuki, Shihori Oikawa) bt Czech Republic 0; Pool B: New Zealand 3 (Frances Davies 2, Stephanie Dickins) bt Italy 0; India lost to USA 1 (Abigail Tamer).
