Germany down India

A goal in each half enabled Germany to beat a young, fighting, India 2-0 and pick full points from their opening fixture in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament, at the Bukit Jalil stadium in Malaysia, on Friday.

Speedy forward Oliver Domke, from a brilliant field goal, and Timo Wess, from a penalty-corner, were the scorers.

India, who drew 2-2 to Malaysia on Thursday, did have their chances but could not crack open the German defence, where Florian Kunz and Michael Green were brilliant.

In an earlier match, South Korea and Pakistan played a 2-2 draw while England and Malaysia drew goalless in the last match of the day.

The Indian forwardline was once again exposed, as Sabu Varkey, who was supposed to play in tandem with Mukesh Kumar, had a miserable outing, which forced India coach Baldev Singh to replace him in the first-half itself.

Deepak Thakur was another prominent offender for India. Thrice he was well-placed to score but ran the wrong way when Mukesh laid passes for him.

In defence, it was Dilip Tirkey who put up a superlative show.

Germany earned four penalty-corners to India's two, showing how the game was constantly played in the midfield.

India team manager A P Singh said the team is improving. "The boys played well, looking at the overall strength of the German team," he said.

"Devesh Chauhan played well to keep some stiff shots away but we were a little disappointed with the forward line," he added.

Germany piled on the pressure early, when, in the third minute, Liver Domke got away from Bikramjit Singh and with only goalkeeper Chauhan in front, flicked the ball neatly home to give his side a 1-0 lead.

The Indians regrouped within 10 minutes, with Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Thakur, Sabu Varkey and Daljit Dhillon raiding the German half only to be thwarted by a solid defence.

Varkey was in possession of the ball on a few occasions but could not force the moves. Mukesh Kumar impressed as he ducked the German defenders with ease but Thakur could not keep pace with him.

India earned their first penalty-corner in the 29th minute but could not convert.

As the teams came back from break, with Germany leading 1-0, it was evident that Germany would slow down the pace of the game, keeping in mind their tough game against Australia on Saturday.

With the ball mostly in their possession, Germany restricted the Indian forwards from making any forays. They scored in the 61st minute, off their fourth penalty-corner, when Timo Wess smashed the ball off an opening, high into the right hand corner off the net.

With barely ten seconds from the hooter, India earned their second penalty-corner but Tirkey's hard drive saw the ball go inches past the right hand post.

Germany now have three points while India have one.

India play arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.

Penalty-corner ace Sohail Abbas scored in the 40th minute to earn Asian giants Pakistan a 2-2 draw against Olympic Games silver medallists South Korea.

The Pakistanis, who lost to Australia in the opening match on Thursday, were the better team, but have themselves to blame for not capitalising on the many chances that came their way.

South Korea took an early lead, in the seventh minute, through Yoo Moon-ki, who beat two defenders and slamed home.

The Pakistanis, however, restored parity within three minutes following a neat passing bout from midfield, which was finished in goal by Muhammad Nadeem.

South Korea regained the lead in the 22nd minute through Seo Jong-ho.

In the second session, Pakistan's early pressure paid off as Sohail sounded the board in the 40th minute. Thereafter they had some good chances but failed to break through the tight Korean defence.

England collected their first point in the tournament, after being beaten by South Korea in their opening match.

Backed by a partisan home crowd, the Malaysians came up with a fine allround display and should have ended up winners but for poor finishing. Besides, two goalline saves by Tom Bertram denied them full points. They were particularly impressive in midfield and defence and confidently thwarted any danger the English forwards posed.

Friday's results:
South Korea 2 (Yoo Moon-ki 7, Seo Jong-ho 22); Pakistan 2 (Muhammad Nadeem 10, Sohail Abbas 40)
Germany 2 (Oliver Domke 2, Timo Wess 43); India 0
England drew with Malaysia 0-0.

Complete Coverage: Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, 2001