MCT: India beat Germany
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| India |
December 7, 2004
Indian Express
Lahore, December 7: India bounced back from a one-goal deficit to beat a spirited Germany 3-1 for their first win in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Lahore on Tuesday.
After a listless display in the first half when they conceded a goal in the 20th minute, India pulled up their socks in time to secure their first points in this elite six-nation tournament at the National Stadium.
They bounced back with goals from Sandeep Michael (40th minute), Arjun Halappa (59th) and Vivek Gupta (68th) while Jan-Marco Montag (20th minute) scored the only goal for Germany in the match which saw Indians dominate in the second half and play some superb hockey.
India struggled to get the rhythm for the better part of the first half as their opponents dominated the proceedings.
Germany, fielding a second string side, made a spirited attempt on the Indian post right from the start and in fact came quite close to scoring when Michael Purps got the ball from Christian Wein in the midfield before proceeding near the Indian circle.
With hardly any player to challenge him, Purps looked all set to give Germany the lead in the fifth minute, but much to the dismay of his teammates, he stepped on the ball.
Soon after, goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza came to India's rescue when he showed superb reflexes to stop Eike Duckwitz's attempt at the post as India hung on grimly to survive the German onslaught.
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