India outclasses Olympic champions Argentina 3-0, registers second win in FIH Pro League
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New Delhi, April 12: India registered their second win in as many days in the FIH Pro League as Harmanpreet Singh (11'), Lalit Upadhyay (25') and Mandeep Singh's (58') goals helped the visitors to defeat the Olympic Champions Argentina 3-0 here in Buenos Aires.
Though Argentina got off to a great start, India's defense mode was full-on as Krishan Bahadur Pathak made three brilliant saves in the first quarter to deny the hosts from taking the lead.
India gradually found the momentum. In the 11th minute, Harmanpreet scored his third goal in two days, drilling a penalty corner away from Vivaldi's left and into the corner of the net.
The visitors doubled their lead with a delightful field goal five minutes before the end of the first half. Vivaldi had initially saved Gurjant Singh's shot after Lalit set him up with a determined run inside the Argentinian circle. Lalit, though, was quick to pounce on the rebound to give India a 2-0 lead.
In the third quarter, India's high-intensity pressing continued to force Argentina into making mistakes. They dominated possession and swarmed all over the Argentinian defence by regularly finding space behind the full-backs. India bagged their third goal two minutes before full time after Shamsher Singh found Mandeep, who tucked the ball into the net despite losing his balance. Pathak deservedly earned a clean sheet while Rajkumar, Shamsher and Hardik Singh put in excellent displays for their side.
"We were a lit bit asleep in the first quarter. We woke up in the second quarter. Controlling possession made the difference," chief coach Graham Reid reflected on India's superb turnaround in the game. The win pushed India up to the fourth place (after eight games) in the FIH Pro League.
India will play two more friendly matches against Argentina on April 13 and 14 in Bueno Aires, before they resume their FIH Pro League matches against Great Britain on May 8 and 9 in London.