CWG Hockey, India vs England, as it happened: India miss bronze with a 0-6 defeat

Wrapping up

Not a great finish for Rani Rampal and Co. They landed at Gold Coast with the promise of winning gold. They had the talent and the skills to do it. Not the favourites, but the dark horses. So, the 3-4 defeat to Wales in their first match itself was a little shocking. But they upset England 2-1 and won two more matches to meet Australia in the quarters. Australia won it, but they had to earn the victory. Their captain even conceded after the match that it was very tough to beat them.

So, considering India’s campaign so far in the tournament, this 0-6 scoreline is a little shocking. Maybe the team was exhausted, physically and mentally after the semi-final.

But this defeat, even as it may haunt them, they’d want to put it behind. For, there are bigger goals to be achieved.

Also, the men’s final will be starting soon. Stick around the website to catch the live blog. Seeya and have a great day.

07:33 am Bronze for England, humiliation for India. This wasn’t expected at all. The Indian dressing room will be scratching their heads. India’s had a good campaign so far at Gold Coast. Their two losses were narrow. They showed great resolve in their 0-1 semi-final defeat against Australia. But 0-6 is inexplicable. When they were expected to come up with some great counter-attack in the last quarter, they lost the plot.

07:28 am India 0-6 England, 5 minutes left in last quarter: GOAL! It’s all happening quickly. Like the crashing of a plane, like the demolition of a building, like a car accident. England is humiliating India here. Six goals to nil with less than two minutes to go. The Indian spirit is battered. This scoreline will hurt them a lot after having such a good campaign otherwise at Gold Coast.

07:26 am India 0-4 England, 5 minutes left in last quarter: GOAL! Sloppy defence there by the Indian girls. Laura Unsworth slots one in from the edge of the circle. And no one there to cut her off. It’s all over for India, now.

07:17 am India 0-3 England, 10 minutes left in last quarter: GOAL! Sophie Bray’s been unstoppable in this match. She is on the attack. She is on the defence. She is snatching the bronze medal away from India in this match. She scoops the ball from a side angle and it flies to the Indian net. Three goals to nil in the last quarter. Is it all over for Rani & Co? A miracle is required to win this!

07:10 am India 0-2 England, End of third quarter: More pressure on India. It’s England’s match to lose now. They are two goals up and are looking good because of that. They haven’t let India come too close. Except the attempts by Vandana and Lalremsiami, there have been no chances for India. Crucial last quarter. Here are the third quarter stats:-

07:08 am India 0-2 England, 1 minute left in Q3: GOAL! Stunner from the edge of the circle by Sophie Bray. Probably the goal of the tournament. From the right flank, she receives a pass. No defender too close to her, so, she swivels a little and unleashes a strike the jets to the top left corner. No one can stop that! Just brilliant!

06:59 am India 0-1 England, 9 minutes left in Q3: Wow. Vandana comes close to scoring. Would have been a sensational goal. Like her captain Rani does often, she gets a great pass, swivels and hits it. But a little wide. India are still trailing.

06:53 am India 0-1 England, 12 minutes left in Q3: Drama. Two penalty corners. India come close to scoring in one, the other one’s wasted, as they delay striking the ball. The English defender notes and quickly intercepts launches a counter-attack. So, India’s still trailing. Also, guess who’s back with a head bandage on? Reminds one of Anil Kumble at St. Johns in 2002.

06:40 am India 0-1 England, End of first half: Hollie-Pearne goal has been the difference between the teams so far. Both teams have played equally well. Not a lot of chances created. But good defence. Then, England, two minutes ahead of the half-time, sneaked one in and they have a big advantage going into the second half considering India lost Vandana. Let’s see how the second half pans out.

06:38 am India 0-0 England (2 minutes remaining in Q2): GOAL! England convert their third penalty corner. What a hit by Hollie Pearne-Webb! No deflections, slams straight into the Indian net. And, great timing of the goal, too. England would go into the first half with a lead.

06:34 am India 0-0 England (4 minutes remaining in Q2): Just the three chances so far in the match, two by India and one by England – all three of penalty corners. No field goal attempts. The defence of both teams have been strong.

06:29 am India 0-0 England (9 minutes remaining in Q2): No shots on goal yet. Both teams are making repeated forays into the opposition circle. But no great chances so far.

06:25 am India 0-0 England (13 minutes remaining in Q2): Townsend with a brilliant run there. But the Indian defence cuts it short.

06:22 am India 0-0 England End of first quarter: HOOTERS. Not much happening there except the two penalty corners and Vandana’s injury, which is a setback. But Rani and girls are capable of putting that behind. Both teams have been on equal footing so far.

06:17 am India 0-0 England (4 minutes remaining in Q1): Couple of forays into the Indian circle, fetches England a penalty corner. They miss it. But since Vandana’s exit from the field, England have taken control of the match.

06:11 am India 0-0 England (7 minutes remaining in Q1): Penalty corner! India miss. But oh no, Vandana is down. The ball deflects off the English goalie, Hinch’s boots and strikes her on the face. She’s been taken away. Not sure if she’ll be back. Vandana’s a key player. So, early setback for India.

06:08 am India 0-0 England (10 minutes remaining in Q1): Both teams are looking to put pressure on the other straight away. Almost like an arm wrestling match. India looking slightly more aggressive. Couple of good runs. But no alarming chances.

06:02 am India 0-0 England (First quarter begins): England have won a medal in every edition of the Commonwealth Games they have participated. India, if they win today, will be snapping England’s streak. Not sure how many players are aware of this stat. Nevertheless, they’ll all be playing to win a medal. And, the action begins.

05:50 am Line ups:-

India: Deep Grace Ekka, Lilima Minz, Monika, Namita Toppo, Navneet Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Rani Rampal (C), Savita (GK), Sunita Lakra, Sushila Pukhrambam, Vandana Katariya.

England: Laura Unsworth, Giselle Ansley, Sarah Haycroft, Eleanor Watton, Hollie Pearne-Webb, Grace Balsdon, Alexandra Danson (C), Madeleine Hinch (GK), Anna Toman, Sussanah Townsend, Sophie Bray.

“We are all very disappointed that we could not qualify for the gold medal match because it was our target for the Commonwealth Games. But my team can take the positives from their performance against a strong Australian side who were playing in front of their home crowd. I felt we had our chances in the match, but we didn’t manage to convert them. However, we need to keep our chins up as we have an important match ahead of us against England. The bronze medal match gives us the opportunity to end our campaign on a good note and prepare for the future tournaments with confidence in ourselves.”

-Rani Rampal, Indian captain.

05:30 am: Good morning, all you early birds. Welcome to the bronze medal match between India and England. Both teams had narrow defeats in the semi-finals. England, especially, lost 1-2 in the shootouts to New Zealand. So, both would want to clinch the bronze so they won’t return home empty handed from Gold Coast. Rani Rampal and company defended bravely against Australia and had several close opportunity to score in the last game. They just started attacking a little too late. So, they might be aggressive from the start today. Also, they have beaten England 2-1 in the group stage. They are, hence, favoured to win this game.