FIH Hockey World League Final: India vs England — As it happened...

Two goals to three, that's the scoreline. After playing catch up in the first half, India increased the tempo in the fourth quarter. And they have even made it 2-2, only to see dangerous Sam Ward killing off the contest with a brilliant finish. Sam deservedly was the hero of the match.

In another Group B match earlier in the day, Germany and Australia shared the spoils after a 2-2 draw, meaning India are now at the bottom of the points table with a draw and a defeat from two outings. Germans lead with four points with a win and draw, while England, thanks to the win today, overtook defending champs Australia to the second spot with three points. They lost to Germany yesterday. Aussies have two points from two draws.

In Group A, Belgium shocked Olympic champions and top seeds Argentina in 3-2 Rio Games final replay, which the South Americans won 4-2.  It was followed by another shock, with Spain beating their more celebrated European rivals the Netherlands 3-2.

60th min. Uthappa tries to reach to a high ball, after a cross from outside the circle. Dangerous, so thus, England get the crucial seconds to kill off the contest. A defeat for India.

58th min. Yellow card to Akashdeep. India down to 10. Moments ago, Harmanpreet drills one and hit the plank. But no goal for India as it came from outside the circle.

57th min. Good hands from David Goodfield, but SV Sunil applies pressure on him, forcing England to lose possession. India then slow down the pace, before releasing Akashdeep with a move on the left. On the counter, England call for a long corner, but referee disagreed. Then, with just three and half minute left in the match, Sam Ward toys with Indian captain, and manufactures a brilliant goal. His rocket reverse hit beats Indian goalie to the left.

It forces India to sacrifice Akash Chikte with Harmanpreet assuming the role of roaming goalie.

53rd min. Rupinder Pal is having a blinder. He wins the ball just outside the Indian circle, then releases it for Akashdeep with a reverse hit. What a vision. But Akashdeep fails to make further inroads. And now time for Akash Chikte to readjust his gears. The Indian goalie does it occasionally.

50th min. Green cards from Manpreet and England defender for a tussle in front of England goalmouth. A PC for India though. Then, another. From the second attempt, Rupinder Pal beats England goalie with a huge drag. Equaliser for India in the 50th minute.

47th min. Akashdeep Singh SCORES from the rebound after Rupinder Singh hits the England goalie with his PC drag. Good start in the final quarter, and the crowd is giving the boost.

45th min. A good move forward for India, but nothing's breaking this seemingly unbreakable England defence.

43rd min. Akashdeep Singh asks for a review, claiming an England defender blocks the ball with the back of his stick. And it's PC, first for India. Harmanpreet goes wide, and a second PC. Injection from Chinglensana, then Manpreet Singh goes for the push, but England goalie is just brilliant. Huge save.

44th min. Sneaky Liam Ansell goes for a reverse hit, but misses the target. But England subsequently increase the lead with a Samuel Ward field GOAL in the 43rd minute, thanks to a huge mistake from Harmanpreet in defence.

40th min. Hard working Lalit Upadhyay wins back the possession, then switches flanks from left to right, but his cross deflected from an England block. India continue to press hard, but English defenders are doing just fine, with goalie producing some brave moves. In the 40th minute, there's a call for PC with one of the England players getting his foot blocking the ball, but the referee declares it a dangerous rise.

37th min.  Mandeep Singh wins possession back thanks to a loose pass from an England player, but his release for SV Sunil fails to reach the intended target. India then seek comfort in building a move from the back. Then, again, lose the possession.

34th min. Quick exchange of possessions. Then, Birendra Lakra's smart play allows India to press forward from the centre. A free hit for India then Harry Gibson denies Chinglensana a sure goal with a diving stick save.

India's possession of the half is 44% with five circle penetration and one attempt hitting the target. England too have same count of circle penetration, but the difference came from the sole PC they won, which indirectly produced the goal from a long corner.

30th min. England weather a flurry of Indian attacks towards the end of second quarter. For that matter of fact, they make no effort to resume the play after the ball goes out of play with the clock ticking.

28th min. England clearly dominating the play. They now have 59% possession and more penetration. They also have more tackles, 5 to 3. Meanwhile, Mark Gleghorne just produces a timely block in front of England goalie to deny a hit from Mandeep Singh.

25th min. Indian defenders do well the block, but the goes for a long corner. England, then score the opening goal with David Goodfield slotting home from the goalmouth. Good release from Liam Ansell from the right inside the circle.

24th min. Two captains Manpreet Singh and Phil Roper engage in a body tussle in the England half with the England captain winning the ball. From the following play, Lalit Upadhyay produces a good looking pass, but Mandeep Singh fails to reach the ball. England then win the first PC thanks to a foot.

23rd min. Poor touch from Mandeep Singh on the right. Akashdeep Singh was waiting for an early release just outside the England circle. England, then, launch a quick counter, but an alert Lalit Upadhyay wins the ball back for India.

20th min. Indian defenders come good thwarting a good move from England. Then, Lalit Upadhyay finds himself with the ball inside the England circle, but he fails to release it in time. Change of roles now for India. Chinglensana, who was manning the defensive role, is playing free in the left flank, just behind Akashdeep.

17th min. England using the width of the field to good effect, frequently switching the flanks. After a good move, England lose ball allowing Gurjant to set up Akashdeep on the left flank, who then releases it for Chinglensana. The Manipuri player, however, fails to hit the target with his reverse hit.

15th min. India push hard for an opening in the dying seconds, but ended up giving away a free-hit to England. And it's nil-nil. England looked the better side in those first 15 minutes.

14th min. Referee asks Mark Gleghorne to slow down. He was trying to push the side hit too quick. Play resumes, then India win back the ball from their own half.

13th min. A nasty collision between SV Sunil and David Goodfield in the centre. But both the players greet each other, no worries. Sunil then wins the ball and launches into a solo run and tries to find Akashdeep, but he takes a tumble, again.

10th min. Then a move the right results in a good chance for India, but fail to make it count. Harmanpreet passes to SV Sunil, but the later fails to make a clean stop. Infringement. Free hit to England, they manage to breach the Indian defence. A good chance for them, but the scoreline still remains nil-nil.

8th min. Birendra Lakra finds SV Sunil with a precise push in the centre, then India get a good move from the left flank. But a wild hit results in ball flying high, over the Englan goal-line.

6th min. Loose ball from England captain Phil Roper, giving away possession to India, thanks to a side hit. But it's still England dominating the midfield play, but without circle penetration.

4th min. Sam Ward finds a good through ball just outside India circle, then, plays a link up play even as Indian defenders scramble hard to clear the ball away.

2nd min. Barry Middleton rolls the ball to start the match, then Englan soon lose possession. And within seconds, Akashdeep Singh finds himself face-to-face with England goalie. Good start for India.

India are in whites, England in Reds.

Squads:

INDIA: 1-Harmanpreet Singh, 2-Akash Chikte (GK), 3-Rupinder Pal Singh, 5-Kothajit Khadangbam, 7-Manpreet Singh (C), 9-Gurjant Singh, 11-Mandeep Singh, 12-Dipsan Tirkey, 13 - Suraj Karkera (GK), 14-Lalit Upadhyay, 15- SK Uthappa, 17- Sumit, 18-Amit Rohidas, 22-Varun Kumar, 24-SV Sunil, 26-Birendra Lakra, 27-Akashdeep Singh, 29-Chinglensana Kangujam

ENGLAND: 1-PINNER George (GK), 2-GIBSON Harry (GK), 3-TAYLOR Luke, 5-AMES David, 6-WEIR Henry, 9-MARTIN Harry, 13-WARD Sam, 14-GLEGHORNE Mark, 15-ROPER Phil (C), 16-DIXON Adam, 17-MIDDLETON Barry, 18-CREED Brendan, 19-GOODFIELD David, 21-ANSELL Liam, 22-CONDON David, 25-GRIFFITHS Christopher

Quick preview:

At the Hockey World League (HWL) 2017 in Bhubaneswar, it doesn’t matter if a team wins or not during the league stage. The format of the eight-team tournament ensures each team plays the quarterfinal. But nothing gets a team in shape better than a win, which is what India will target in their second game of the tournament against England, heading into the rest day.

India drew 1-1 with Australia in first match of Pool B, which heard more ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the crowd than ecstatic shrieks after goals, and England were a distant second to Germany in a 0-2 defeat. It will be a rest day for Pool B teams on Sunday, which the colonial cousins would want to enjoy with a win under their belt