India suffered an upset in their second home match of the 4th FIH Hockey Pro League (Men) as they went down fighting 2-3 against Spain at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today. After starting their campaign with 4-3 win over New Zealand two days ago, India suffered the defeat by conceding a goal towards the fag end of the match.

Spain looked stronger from the start of the game with more ball possession and with their forwards scoring two goals in the first half. Although India made a comeback in the dying minutes, Marc Reyne scored the winner in the 57th minute to win it for Spain. Spain was particularly dangerous on the flanks as they created more attacks from the sides.

After an evenly contested first quarter, a mistake from Harmanpreet Singh proved costly as Spain converted that penalty corner into a goal in the 17th minute of the game. Sreejesh tried to save that but the deflection that came from his pads was hit straight into the net by Eduard De Ignacio.

India created opportunities but could not convert any. Young Raj Kumar Pal missed an open shot as he hit it just away from the goalpost in the 20th minute. It was then captain Marc Miralles who scored another goal to give Spain a two-goal cushion.

Mandeep and Hardik’s combination earned India two penalty corners with skipper Harmanpreet Singh converting the second one. India was particularly dangerous on the left flank with Spain giving them ample amount of space to create opportunities. Spain went into the half-time break with a goal ahead but it was then the Men in Blue who showed their class.

The third quarter turned to be a neck-to-neck contest as teams tried to divulge into their opponents half without much success. Spanish goalkeeper Adrian Rafi was the star in the last quarter effecting a few heroic saves denying Indian forwards to score another. However, Abhishek got the breakthrough to make the scores level.

However, Spain kept attacking continuously and finally Marc Reyne was able to beat Indian goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak to seal the match in their favour. Jordi Bonastre of Spain was awarded as the Player of the Match. India will play their third game against New Zealand at Kalinga Stadium November 4.
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PHOTO: Action from the FIH Hockey Pro League match between hosts India and Spain at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 30 October 2022.