India beat Spain to level series 
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| India |
November 30, 2004 
Outlook India
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India overcame Olympic semi-finalists Spain with a 3-2 win in the second and final hockey Test here today to gain a big psychological boost ahead of the Champions Trophy starting later this week.
India, who had lost by a similar margin in the first Test on Sunday, played an aggressive game to level the series 1-1 with Ignace Tirkey (10th), Sandeep Singh (25th) and Arjun Halappa (57th) scoring for them in the tension-filled encounter.
The match saw the home side racing to a 2-0 lead in the first half itself and even though the Spaniards bounced back after the break, they could not break the Indian defence in the final minutes for an equaliser.
Spain scored both their goals through penalty corner conversions by Pau Quemada (48th) and Alberto Esteban (59th).
It was an overall good display by the Indian team, which barring some odd lapses, played much better than they did in the first Test.
Devesh Chauhan, who has played second fiddle to Adrian D'Souza ever since the Athens Olympics, manned the post brilliantly in the first half to stake a strong claim for an elevation to keeper number one.
Adrian, who replaced his senior after the break as coach Gerhard Rach made some experiements in the side's final competitive match before the elite six-nation event in Lahore, also did well and came up with couple of fine saves.
The initial few minutes saw Spain continuing from where they had left on Sunday, playing with purpose and unleashing some fine attacks from both the flanks. But as the match progressed, the Indians grew in confidence, making regular inroads into the rival defence and finishing their moves with stunning goals.
Ignace Tirkey gave his side the best possible start by slamming home from the top of the circle after Arjun Halappa went inside the Spanish circle only to see his feeble shot padded away by the goalkeeper to the Indian mid-fielder.
The hosts made the scoreline 2-0 in their favour under dramatic circumstance. Vikram Pillay sounded the board with a superb effort but Pakistani umpire Syed Zulfiqar Haider disallowed the goal after the Spanish players protested claiming that the player had raised the stick over his shoulder.
The umpire then awarded a penalty corner to India which was converted by Sandeep Singh with a perfect carpet shot.
In between, Spain made some spirited attempts and in the process even irked the umpires. Their captain Juan Escarre was cautioned for being over-aggressive.
They upped the tempo after the breAk and reduced the margin through Quemada's strike as India went into a shell in a bid to deny their rivals from posing threat to their post.
Even as Spain threatened to equalise, India swelled the lead again when Arjun Halappa made no mistake in hitting the net from the penalty stroke that the side got for an infringement inside the Spanish circle.
Two minutes later Esteban scored to raise hopes of a Spanish revival, but that was not to be as India hung on till the last minute.
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