Birmingham — Wales will attempt to halt India’s charge to a fourth successive men’s semi-final at the Commonwealth Games by reaching the knock-outs for the first time in history.
Wales have never reached the semi-finals after four previous Games, or beaten India for that matter. They set up a final group match showdown after coming from a goal down against firm underdogs Ghana to run out 6-1 winners at the University of Birmingham.
Gareth Furlong netted his second hat-trick of the Games, but an unorthodox Ghana were good value for the lead from Ben Kwofie, scoring the Africans’ second goal in their major debut, and could even have reason for a second.
But the Welsh tightened ship before Furlong weaved his magic and the Welsh added two late goals in the final two minutes to add gloss to the result.
11 Ghana v Canada (Pool B)
Picture: Ghana thank the fans
COPYRIGHT WORLDSPORTPICS ADY KERRY
“Of course back-to-back games is tough, so we’ll make sure we recover well now,” Furlong said ahead of another big day in the rising story of Welsh hockey.
“It’s basically now a quarter-final to decide who takes that second and third spot in the group.
“It will be a tough game as they are a really good side, but if we play like we did against England in patches, we feel confident we can come away with something.”
The last two meetings between India and Wales were in the Commonwealth Games: in Glasgow 2014 where India won 3-1, and in the Gold Coast 2018, losing 4-3.
Furlong will head into the clash on seven goals after his four corner strikes against Canada.
