The Hindu : Dutch prove their superiority

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 09, 2004

Sport

Sport - Hockey

Dutch prove their superiority

By S. Thyagarajan

Ms. Simone Tata handing over the Naval Tata Memorial Trophy to the Dutch captain Jeroen Delmee. — Photo: K. Ramesh Babu.

Holland 2 India 1

HYDERABAD, FEB. 8. A second-half resurgence was not enough for India to stop Olympic champion, the Netherlands, from fashioning a 2-1 triumph and clinching the Naval Tata memorial Trophy in the three-Test hockey series which concluded at the Gachibowli Sports Complex here today. Holland drew the first Test and won the next two to confirm its superiority.

The Dutch attack was methodical, thanks to the imaginative work of the world's best inside forward, Teun de Nooijer, who struck both the goals this evening. Both in the midfield, where skipper Jeroen Delmee was once again outstanding, and in the deep defence, guarded well by the gangling Bram Lomans and the tireless Taeke Takema, the Dutch underlined their professionalism and proficiency.

The young Klaas Veering was fielded as the substitute goalkeeper for the seasoned Guus Vogels and he performed well, effecting quite a few saves. Teun di Nooijer showed his silken touch and his effort was enhanced by the support he received from Floris Evers and Ronald Brauwer in the attack line. Similarly, Delmee had an apt foil in Erik Jazart.

India was once again let down by the frontline which failed to make good use of the splendid work put in by the midfield. Vikram Pillay was prominent as always while Bimal Lakra displayed his class. Some of Lakra's passes, given their angles and speed, were breathtaking, but the forwards were nowhere in position to convert them into goals.

Ignace Tirkey and Viren Resquinha were consistent and so were Dilip Tirkey and Kanwalpreet Singh. Even the young Harpal Singh, who replaced Tirkey in the second-half, played with a touch of assurance. A word of praise for goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan will not be out of place. If the series remained open till the final minute, it was largely due to Devesh's excellent display under the bar.

Riding on the confidence generated by the early goal, the Dutch maintained a firm grip over the match. A long clearance by Piet Geeris paved the way for Ronald Brauwer to beat the defence with a crisp pass and de Nooijer provided the finishing touches.

India did show some urgency in fashioning moves from the midfield but they could not be developed into menacing raids due to the inept frontline. The normally ebullient Gagan Ajit Singh was forced into the wing where he hardly made his presence felt. Baljit Singh Dhillon did well in spurts without integrating with the rest. Tejbir Singh injected some verve along with Vikram but it was inadequate to make an impression on the Dutch defence. Twice Gagan was stopped by Veering.

Close to half-time, an astute pass by Ignace gave Sandeep Michael a splendid chance but the latter fumbled. Shortly after the break, Sandeep had another wonderful opportunity but hit the ball straight into Veering's pads.

It was the Netherlands that went on to widen the margin at this stage. A long pass by Delmee helped de Nooijer to beat the Indian defence as well as Devesh Chauhan. The writing was on the wall for India at this point but Tejbir and Dhillon combined better to create some pressure on the Dutch deep defence.

Seven minutes before the hooter, India courted success after frittering away half-a-dozen chances. From a penalty corner, Kanwalpreet's withering drive bounced off Veering's pads. Prabhjot Singh, lurking nearby, trapped it and flicked the ball home much to the delight of the moderate crowd. The only consolation of seeing India getting beaten not disgraced.

Vikram Pillay was declared the `player of the series.

Mrs. Simone Tata, Chairman Trent and Director Tata Industries and wife of the late Naval Tata, gave away the trophy.

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