Sam Ward’s brace secured a thrilling 3-2 victory for England over India’s men’s team in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Ward raised his season’s tally to 11 goals by scoring twice (19′ and 29′) following James Payton’s opener (15′). India responded with two goals from Abhishek (18′) and Sukhjeet Singh (39′) but were undone by some resolute defending from England. A pacey first quarter witnessed intense attacking action on both ends of the pitch in search of the opening goal, but the defences stood strong. India had a solid chance in the 10th minute when Manpreet Singh threaded a neat ball towards Uttam Singh, but the English back-line cleared the chance.
India were cognizant of the fact that England had scored the second-most goals in the tournament and opted for a deep defence, but their backline was breached in the final minute of the first quarter. Payton received the ball on the left byline and dribbled past a couple of defenders before sliding the ball under an onrushing Krishan Pathak.
England led 1-0 in the 15th minute, but their lead lasted only three minutes as Abhishek netted the all-important equalizer. Sanjay brilliantly brought down a long ball and worked his way into the right flank before firing a low cross towards the centre of the goal. Abhishek showed great skill to step in front of his marker and squeeze the ball past the defence to make it 1-1 in the 18th minute.
However, England needed less than a minute to bounce back as Ward scored after a superb team move. He surged ahead on the counter and played a stunning one-two with Payton. The goal-scorer turned provider as Payton squared the ball to Ward, and he slotted the ball into an empty goal for his 10th goal of the season.
India nearly found the equalizer in the 27th minute when some silky link-up play saw Rajinder Singh have a go at the goal, but his strike blazed just wide of the post. England, though, extended their lead to 3-1 in the 28th minute.
Ward won the ball in the Indian circle and exchanged a pass with a teammate, before slashing the return pass into the back of the net. Ward scored his second goal of the evening, and England cruised ahead to a 3-1 lead.
India came out all guns blazing in the third quarter and came close to scoring twice but was denied by some spirited goalkeeping from James Mazarelo. A dramatic episode followed in the 39th minute when Ward theatrically went down to the ground and asked for a review for misconduct. The replays showed that there was no malice, and the incident spurred on the Indians as they pulled one back in the 39th minute.
Hardik Singh received a cutback at the edge of the circle, and he unleashed a fiery strike, which Sukhjeet Singh duly turned in. Craig Fulton’s men now trailed by just one goal at 2-3 and threatened to score again as they created a flurry of chances. They won a bunch of penalty corners but missed the finishing touch as England held on to their one-goal lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Englishmen made a surging start to the fourth quarter and would have extended their lead if not for some sublime goalkeeping from Suraj Karkera. Mazarelo was also kept busy as he reacted well to parry away Nilam Xess’ drag-flick with around six minutes to go.
India surged forward in pursuit of their third goal and created a superb opportunity when Manpreet won a penalty corner with just 86 seconds remaining. Harmanpreet Singh struck a powerful drag-flick, but Mazarelo rose to the occasion once more as England defended valiantly to secure a thrilling victory.
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