Beijing Olympic silver-medallists Spain made light of the absence of injured strikers Santi Freixa and Eduard Tubau to silence a boisterous crowd of 19,000 with a win over hosts India.
Pau Quemada converted two penalty corners, while Albert Sala, captain Pol Amat and David Alegre chipped in with goals in the key match.
India, who trailed 2-0 at half-time, earned consolation goals from Sandeep Singh and Gurwinder Chandi.
With two rounds of league matches still to be played, Australia and Spain were lying second in the group behind England with six points each.
India and Pakistan trail with three points apiece and need big wins in the remaining games to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.
South Africa, the other team in the group, have lost all three matches so far, scoring six goals and conceding 22.
India's Spanish coach Jose Brasa conceded the hosts were virtually out of the semi-finals, but wanted his team to finish among the top six.
"It's very disappointing to lose a crucial match, but we committed childish mistakes in the defence and up front," said Brasa.
"The game turned Spain's way when we conceded the second goal with just seconds to go for half-time."
Spain's goal-scorer Sala was confident his team can advance to the knock-out rounds.
"We have a very good chance now," he said. "We are finding form at the right time."
No comments:
Post a Comment