Canada lost 2-3 to India in the last game of the tour in Barcelona this
afternoon.
In a fast game, India capitalized on 2 defensive mistakes in the first 15
minutes to score 2 early goals.
Jon Mackinnon in goal for Canada
had no chance on either of them. The team then settled down to play very
constructive hockey and created number of scoring opportunities.
Wayne Fernandes scored a a penalty
corner goal in the first half. The flick was right in the top corner and the
goalkeeper had no chance.
The second half was also very fast with both teams attacking and creating
good opportunities. India went ahead 3-1 on a field goal from a well executed
attacking sequence with some good passes. The Canadian team pressed and missed
several very good opportunities that would not normally be missed by the team.
Canada earned a corner midway through the second half and
Chris Ingvaldson scored to make
the score 2-3. That was the final score, neither team could score against
solid defensive play.
The tour ended on a losing note but the young Canadian Team earned valuable
experience and that will help the overall program. Several players made a
positive impression and will be given further opportunities with the team.
It was a quick paced game with both teams creating offensive opportunities
by working the ball around. The young Canadian team played with a lot more control
and pace. The ball movement was also quite effective.
The first half ended with Canada on top 1-0 although Belgium had also
created several opportunities but the Canadian defence played well.
At the start of the second half, Canada generated a good scoring opportunity
when Paul Wettlaufer had a strong
run from midfield and he beat a couple of defenders. He passed off to
Ken Pereira but his shot at net went
just wide.
Canada failed to earn a shutout as Belgium scored from a penalty corner
just as the game ended. The final score was 2-1 for Canada.
The first half belonged to Germany as it constantly pressured the young
Canadian Team. The Canadian Team worked the ball quite well from defence
to midfield but could not maintain control. The Germans scored after 15
minutes from a well worked free play. While Canada generated several
opportunities, the German defence kept them out. At the other end , Germany
scored a couple of penalty corner goals and another field goal just as the
first half ended.
The second half was clearly a different game with Canada playing with more
flair and quicker ball movement. Canada scored from its second penalty
corner from Robin D'Abreo and added
another later in the half also from another penalty corner by
Wayne Fernandes. Both penalty
corners were very well executed.
The tournament concluded this evening with Spain winning it by defeating
India 5-3. The score could easily have been higher for Spain.
Tomorrow is a rest day and then Canada plays 2 more International Test
Matches with Belgium (11 January) and India (12 January).
Canada lost 3-7 to Spain in the second game of the Tournament. The team lacked
the experience and made several unfortunate errors that resulted in goals against
us. There is nothing I could say that would sound anything but an excuse for
the result.
However, looking beyond the result and keeping in mind the purpose of this
tour, the team did play well and the result was really not indicative of the
match. Spain scored first from a penalty stroke but Canada tied it up a few
minutes later from a penalty corner by
Bindi Kullar. Soon after that, a
number of errors and good plays by Spain set back Canada and at the half the
score was 1-5.
Again, in the second half, the team started well and Canada scored another
penalty corner goal by Bindi Kullar
but Spain also continued to play well. Canada scored a 3rd goal from
Ranjeev Deol but it was not enough.
The team did generate a number of scoring opportunities but could not
capitalize.
The team now has to face Germany tomorrow. Germany defeated India 2-1 in
an exciting match today.
Canada lost to India 0-1 in an exciting game this evening in Barcelona. The
game had flashes of good attacking hockey by the Indian team and counterattacks
by the Canadian Team.
The first half was fairly even although India had a couple of penalty corners.
The score at the end of the first half was 0-0 with
Mike Mahood making a couple of good saves.
Early in the second half, there was a breakdown in the Canadian Team defence
and India scored a field goal. The Canadian team continued to play well and
controlled play , even generating penalty corners and some good field opportunities
but did not score.
The Indian team was effective in containing the Canadian attackers and the
game ended 0-1.
There are no injuries in the team.
--- India start with a win ---
The Times of India |
India's Ramandeep Singh (left) battles for possession with Canada's Chris
Gifford
during the four-nation hockey tournament in Barcelona on Thursday.
(Picture AP/PTI)
BARCELONA: India tuned themself for tougher competition with a fighting but
deserving 1-0 win against Canada in the four-nation men's hockey tournament here.
The Asian Games gold medallists, coming here after an error-prone campaign at
the Asia Cup championship in Kuala Lumpur, were matched by the gutsy Canadians
in the first half of the match on Thursday.
The Indians failed to open up and the Canadian defence looked strong going
into the breather.
Sukhbir Singh Gill gave India much needed respite when he sounded the boards
three minutes into the second half. Indian forwards staged several attacks on
the Canadian post but failed to give the finishing touches and settled for a
1-0 win.
|
(September 1998 - Kuala Lumpur
Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony)
Tuesday January 11:
by Tom Green
Here we sit, or lie, in Frankfurt airport enjoying the tail end of a 3 hour
layover. I realize that this journal is really a two day entry but I feel justified:
the boys have not gone to sleep. The final score after last night was Tapas
Bar 2 - Team Canada 0.
Yesterday's game was dissappointing for most. We lost 2-3 and, to quote our
Captain, we threw it away... Not to comment further on the game but it
did mark a meaningful first: it was Mahood's first international as an umpire!
It seems the Spanish were unable to manage an umpire and we were left with our
man. All things considered, he did a good job although we would have appreciated
some more biased umpiring from him.
This will be the last paragraph of the tour. The boys are a bit out of sorts.
We were all up very late hanging around in our hotel rooms being good boys.
Good night!
Monday January 10:
by David Yule
Today was the chance to redeem ourselves after three losses. We had a great
rest day yesterday and a good bit of free time this morning before taking the
field against the Belgians. One concern of ours was that Belgium seems to have
been improving lately – they had a good result in the European Championship
(finishing ahead of Spain) and are preparing for the big Olympic qualifier in
Osaka.
Our bigger concern, however, was the questionable health of Rick "Steady
Eddie" Roberts who had just began suffering from a similar flu to the one
Ronnie had just kicked... Personally, I believe that the main contributing factor
to Rick's malaise was the lack of music on this tour. No guitars and no pianos
will inevitably lead a musical man into some scary depths – stifling the creative
musical juices can only mean one thing: body aches, slight nausea and heavy
congestion (You'll notice that Chris Ingvaldson, another musical man, had also
already fought and kicked a slight bug).
The team was pumped, however, when after the pre-game warmup we found that
Rick was going to play. The game itself went quite well. The Belgians were a
lot less polished and clinical than Spain, India or Germany, and definitely
lacked in offensive firepower. We were able to begin to dictate the flow of
the game and although we didn't get a multitude of chances, we all knew that
they would come. In the last play of the first half, we executed a beautiful
short corner that Bindi "Money" Kullar deflected in to make it 1-0.
Our confidence grew and we controlled the second half, rewarded by another
beauty from the money man – picking up a pass from Robin at the top of the D
and check-swinging his way through the D before blowing a shot over the left
shoulder of the hapless Belgian keeper. 2 for Bindi and 2-0 for Canada!
Any chance that the Belgians were able to generate was stopped by John Mackinnon,
our man celebrating his first cap for Canada. Particularly admirable were his
Garth Snow-like shoulder saves on the Belgian corner flicks and his incessant
(and much needed) shouting and screaming at his players throughout the game.
No one was more disappointed than John when we gave up a short corner as the
time ran out and the lucky Belgian flicker managed to squeak a duffer between
John and his right post – ruining the much deserved shutout.
Final score Canada 2 - Belgium 1.
All in all, a fairly successful game, although none of us were very pleased
with just a one goal victory. The Belgians were soft and we didn't punish them
the way we believe we are capable.
We now can greet tomorrow's game with India with a bit more confidence,
however, and finish off the tour on an even more positive note!
Yesterday was a rest day for us. We had the pleasure of sleeping in and having
breakfast at our own convenient time. I got up at about 9am. Still wasn't feeling
too well but after a nice hot shower and shave, felt like a million bucks!
After breakfast, Rico, Paul and I decided to do the tourist thing, so hopped
aboard the local Metro and went to the "Temple Expiatori Sagrada Familia",
the famous Gaudi Church that was still in the process of being built. I had
seen this famous church in pictures before but no picture could describe or
capture how massive and great this structure was. Being excited, I tried to get
a picture of the church immediately but unfortunately I couldn't find a single
angle where the entire church would fit in the picture!
After paying our 800 pesatas to get in the church, we decided to climb up
the stairs, 110 meters to arrive at the very top of the church. I have to admit,
it was a very tiring walk and Rick and Paul seemed to be in better shape than
me... cause I was stopping to grab my breath after every few meters while the
other two were still climbing strong. At the very top and after loosing Paul
half way up the climb, we met up with Mosher and Giffy. We took the opportunity
to take a few pictures and just enjoy the beautiful view which is overlooking
Barcelona. The funny thing was, Mosher is extremely scared of heights, and you
could just feel that the idea of him being so high up in the air was putting
him on the verge of loosing his breakfast!
After enjoying the beautiful church a little while longer, Rico, Wetts, Mosher,
Giffy and I crossed the street and had a true Olympians lunch. Rick and I were
both not feeling too great so we both skipped the main course and went straight
to desert. We all then went on a walk to the Ramblas (the main happening strip
of Barcelona). On this nice walk the highlight of the day occurred. Mosher pulled
out the map to see if we were going in the right direction and at that exact
moment, a seagull decided to "do its thing" all over Mosher's head! All of us
laughed for about 10 minutes but Mosher didn't seem to be as pleased!
After walking around the Ramblas and going to the famous Zara store, Rick
and I went back to the hotel, enjoying the very beautiful "scenery" along the
way! The rest of the day was spent at the hotel just relaxing with the "Mafioso"
and doing things like watching "Dumb & Dumber" in Spanish. All in all,
a nice relaxing day.
Saturday January 8:
by Tom Green
And so ends the 4 nations.
The day began early again with a walk and Tai Chi session led by Rick, followed
by breakfast at 7:45am. This morning marked a TSN turning point for me. A few
days ago, on our last rest day I was "sick as a dog" with what I can
only describe as a stomach purging hell. Since then I have been much better
and have got myself up for each game but have not been feeling 100%. Today was
great. To make it better, I discovered fresh French loaves, tomato and cheese
for breakfast sandwiches (a personal favorite of mine!).
At 10am we had a brief meeting to cover some final points and for Shiaz to
run down our ABC's for the game. These are three key points that we have decided
to fochus on in the game. With a highly motivated team we set off for the pitch
ready to challenge the Germans mano a mano. Unfortunately it appears that
the Germans stepped onto the same bus with the same ideas and more motivation
and we got beat 5-2 (4-0 at half). To be fair, we played well in patches,
particularly in the second half but were beaten during a few lapses by a team
that, like Spain, will always capitalize on mistakes. This is not a defense
of our loss however. We know all the top teams are dangerous and we have always
been a team that prides itself on out working teams, grinding them down, and
being completely solid in defense. We cannot have lapses like this any more!
But enough about all this serious stuff. Following our game, we lunched at
the club and generally hung around for the last game of the tournament between
Spain and India. This gave us a chance to reflect on our game, to watch an
exciting attacking affair won by Spain, and gave Rick one last chance to speak
German before they left for the airport.
Back at the hotel for treatment and ice baths, then dinner followed by brief
meeting, coffee and a movie in Wayne's room. "The Negotiator" is not a
movie I would recommend (but then I have always been partial to Lithuanian
drama as you may or may not know.)
Anyway bed time now and my poor roommate is a bit under the weather, poor
old chap. So tut tut and carry on lads.
For the record the Spaniards here have been brilliant. Quick, polite and
very efficient.
Friday January 7:
by Ian Bird
Day 2 of the tournament meant a quick turnaround from the evening game against
India – an 11:30 start against Spain. 7:00 alarms for a walk up towards the
Catalan Museum. After the third level of staircases, we stopped at an open patio
with a view back to the hotel and the bull fighting arena. Rick led the team
in a little Tai Chi and then it was back for breakfast - heavy duty coffee included.
I can't say that I am all that keen to describe our performance. To a man,
we played poorly. Basic skill breakdowns, poor decision making and a lack of
the resolve which has come to characterize our team. Not willing to look for
"the positives" in a 7-3 loss. Safe to say that my money is on Spain to qualify
in Osaka. We need to improve, to step up.
Quiet bus ride home. Plenty of boys in the ice baths and on the massage table.
I hooked up with Mike afterwards for a short walk to the local coffee house.
We commiserated for a couple of hours, solved some of the worlds' problems and
returned for a team meeting. Faced the music from the coach, put the game behind
and looked ahead to the Germans.
Dinner at the hotel, movie in one of the rooms, football (soccer) on TV
(Real Madrid and Corinthians) in another, I headed for bed and a book.
The alarm was set for a 7:30 wake-up but unfortunately Johnny Mac and I had
been up since 2:15am and couldn't get back to sleep... I lay there waiting for
morning but Jon decided to go for a walk around 5:30 looking for a grocery store
but none were open. Surprise, surprise! We had a jog at 8:00am that was supposed
to be light but Bob was thinking otherwise. We made our way carefully around
the dog track watching out for dog #@$# because in Spain they don't pick it up,
they just cover it with sand or wait for someone to step in it.
Next was breakfast which is by far our best meal. After some cornflakes,
fruits, eggs, sausage, and juice (no one tried the champagne ) we decided to
get some rest before our departure at 2:45pm.
Everybody seemed pretty pumped for our first game and with all the different
faces in the line-up we were ready for India. The game wasn't very exciting as
we struggled to generate much of an attack but played pretty well defensively.
A couple of flashy runs by Pillay, one leading to the
only goal of the game was all the fans had to cheer about.
The guys were a little down during dinner but we knew we had to re-group
because Spain was up tomorrow. Hopefully I can help out the team in the goals
department and we can beat those Spaniards.
"Woke up, got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Found my way
down stairs..." Actually got to sleep in. Unreal for the third day of tour.
No. Shiaz is not sick.
Breakfast, cereal, pineapple, orange, metro, map, questions, answers, metro,
lots of people, Christmas Eve Day, Arc de Triomphe,
directions, questions, Picasso Museum, totally amazing art, erotic art, cubist
art, innovation, postcards, print, coffee, baguette, grocery store, tight and
windy streets that make you dream of olden days, Palace of Justice: beautiful
architecture, metro, meeting, preparation for India: talk, video, more talk,
lunch with the Mafioso, finally, starving, salad, chicken, fruit, water, trouble
staying hydrated, hanging out, TV, team jog and stretch, dog poop on the streets,
Kenny loves Europe, escalators for lazy people, the Mafioso would
have them everywhere, stretching, tight, tight hamstrings, dinner, Calamari:
I love Calamari! Ate too much Calamari but I don't care, practiced a little
German with the Germs, massage from Bob for my sore side muscles, push-ups
and sit-ups, icing my side, team laundry duty, volunteered (I'm such a cool
guy!), 32 stinky shirts on our bathtub, no big deal, write some postcards,
phone Jason Lafrenier – a Canadian playing ice hockey in Barcelona whom I met
on the plane coming down form Hamburg – maybe he and another guy will come to
our game tomorrow - their first field hockey game, TV, hanging with Wetts and
Tooley, read, bed... Sleep.
Other comments: no guitar – I miss my guitar.
We arose for breakfast at 7:00 and then departed for practice. There was
some potential for conflict on the pitch as India was just beginning their
warm-up as we arrived for our 9:00 am practice. However, in a rather startling
turn of events, the Indians were apparently only to have a fifteen minute
practice after their warm-up.
After practice, the continuing battle to have a quick return to the hotel
was resumed. Cabs were called but none seemed to arrive. Rico decided to take
matters into his own hands and hailed a cab on his own. As we were about to
engage in a similar activity, our cabs arrived, and we returned without further
ado.
Lunch was uneventful, and we prepared for our afternoon game against Stuttgart
Club of Germany. Some slept, others played cards, some read, and others engaged
in activities which will remain unstated due to the confidential status which
had been assigned to them. (What that means, I'm not entirely certain. For
clarification, refer to the policy manual Section IX, Paragraph A, Sub-section
ii which states the following: "When engaged in activities from time to time
which may or may not be contrary to the aforementioned security protocols, all
reference to said matters must, by definition and according to the Geneva Convention,
remain strictly confidential due to the potential dangers which may or may not
be unleashed on the parties involved in the aforementioned activities.")
The game itself was quite exciting and special for me as it marked my first
game with the National Team in five and one-half years. We won 3-1 and the score
was flattering for the Germans.
The return to the hotel went very smoothly and quickly as we all hailed our
own cabs and did not rely on the Polo Club to call taxis for us. Dinner was
uneventful insofar as nothing special happened. After dinner, the team dispersed
in smaller groups to shop, explore, or engage in what may or may not be considered
quasi-restricted activities (see above). Most were back at the hotel by a
reasonable hour, and we enjoyed our first good night's sleep since December 30, 1999.
Well the day started off to be perfect. With an early morning wake up followed
by the taxi ride to the turf and the practice, this team was under way with
the first tour of the new century. It was a perfect day, bright blue skies,
bright shining sun and the perfect temperature. After our practice, we headed
back to the hotel (the perfect hotel I might add) and had lunch.
With an hour's rest we headed back to the turf for yet another practice.
As one of those laws' states, when something can go wrong, it will!!! And it
did. It seemed to us that Spanish people love watering their turf. For almost
30-45 minutes the turf was being watered but there did not seem to be and end.
During one drill, the sprinklers in the middle of the turf sprang up and soaked
a few of the players. At any rate, our perfect day was ruined in a little way.
None-the-less the practice went on when the little problem was corrected.
On to dinner and many were quick to hit the sack. All in all, a perfect day!
Travel Day. I am very excited today. Reason being, this is my first tour
with the Senior Team! I'd have to say the highlight of the flight was the landing
in Frankfurt: it was so foggy outside that it felt like we were high in the
clouds. Thus, it was fairly surprising when we landed. I thought we had a mid-air
collision...
I don't think anyone remembers the connecting flight to Barcelona; we were
all asleep. Oh yeah, they tried to pass us off some food claiming it was fish.
Other than that, there's not too much to talk about. We had a good team jog
to the National Museum of Art. Tom Green got a frisbee in the head during an
exhausting game of tag. And the hotel we are staying in is spectacular!
For information or comments:
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