The bilateral India vs Germany hockey Test series came to a pulsating close in Delhi, what with India drilling in five goals in a span of 11 playing minutes and a penalty shoot-out post that to decide the series outcome. India ended up losing the shoot-out (3-1) and hence the series (after a 1-1 draw), but drama and entertainment were not in short supply towards the end. (Highlights | More Hockey News)
Indian forward Aditya Lalage's attempt, in particular, was quite a bone of contention for the German camp, as goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg and coach Andre Henning could be seen remonstrating with umpire Gurbaj Singh about the decision to allow the goal. Taking India's fourth shot, Lalage was initially thwarted by Danneberg, but the debutant scored on the rebound.
In disbelief with the decision, Germany used a video referral, claiming that Lalage’s shot went inside the goal after the time limit of eight seconds had elapsed. But the video umpire could not provide any advice to the on-field umpire as he did not have the timer available to check the legality of the goal and thus, the goal was not ruled out.
The visitors' expressions got more animated, and they only agreed to play on after much heated debate. The call did not end up hurting the German team much, as they converted their next attempt to win the shoot-out 3-1. But the controversial decision continued to linger in German and other minds.
Setting the record straight after the match, Henning said: "I was disappointed a little with the clock, because I think the horn was coming too late. We saw that in the video as well. We were struggling a little bit with the system. But they solved it and everything was fine, so at the end it was not a problem."
At the same time, the German coach lauded India for their intensity in the second half. "India had more energy and they wanted it a little bit more. This trip was really tough for us. We just arrived two days ago and of course, coming into a new time zone and all the heat.. It was really tough.
"On the other side, India brought so much quality into the game. They just had a run and we couldn't stop it. But I am really happy that we got better in the last 5-10 minutes. We had more control, scored two goals at the end. I told the guys, 'Look, if we lose just by two goals then it's a fair fight'. It was a great experience as we reassured the German mentality of never giving up," Henning added.
India custodian Krishan Bahadur Pathak too delivered the goods in the shoot-out, though he couldn't take his side to a win. The goalie, who is the successor to the legendary PR Sreejesh for the role, made a couple of crucial saves and kept Indian hopes alive almost till the end.
Shedding light on what went into preparing for the tense shoot-out, Pathak said: "We analyse our opponents' approach to penalty shootouts before the matches. What their forwards, midfielders and whoever is stepping up for the shoot-out do...we keep that in mind."
He added, "Sometimes, you have to decide on the fly, as per the opportunities you get. Whether to charge and attack the ball or defend, you need to take a call in the moment."
Pathak also said that there is no way to simulate such pressure-cooker scenarios in training, per se. "You can only get high-pressure situations in matches. You can't practise for them. The more games you play, the more experienced you get in handling such scenarios. That is why I feel you only get well-versed with that pressure in matches like these (the second India vs Germany Test), or in big tournaments."
