Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India head coach Craig Fulton admitted that defensive lapses in the third quarter cost his side dearly as England beat India 4-2 in their second pool match of the men’s Hockey World Cup on Monday.
India were the better side for large parts of the first half and scored twice in the second quarter. But their defensive intensity dropped after the break, allowing England to take control of the match.
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“The first half was good. We got PCs on the counter-attack and came back nicely with a bit more control. In the third quarter our defence was not as good as it was supposed to be,” Fulton said after the match.
“England played like a world number three team. We created a few chances but couldn’t convert those.”
India vs England, Hockey World Cup Highlights
The defeat leaves India needing a strong response against arch-rivals Pakistan in their final pool match on Wednesday.
Fulton said India cannot afford to dwell on the loss and must show greater composure in the crucial encounter.
“If we had won today, we still have to do the business in the next game. We just have to be better on the ball in the final match and show a bit of composure. We needed to press out and put some pressure on them,” he said.
“The forward line played well but we needed to score three-plus goals and we could only score two. It’s just the second match and we will learn from this loss. We have another big opportunity against Pakistan and the boys are motivated for that.”
Manpreet Singh also admitted that India’s defensive lapses proved costly and stressed the need for discipline against Pakistan.
“We were playing so well till the third quarter but there were a few defensive lapses in the last quarter which cost us. Overall, the performance was good but the defence has to be very strong against the top teams and we need to convert our chances also,” Manpreet said.
India tried several variations from penalty corners but England’s defence stood firm.
“We were trying variations on PCs but they defended well. We cannot underestimate any team. Pakistan also have good penalty corner specialists, so we must not concede PCs against them. We have to earn more PCs in the upcoming matches,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Manpreet felt India continued to play to their structure and create chances until the end.
“Our defenders broke their full press many times. It’s a long tournament and we will learn from the mistakes. You cannot play with the same momentum for the whole 60 minutes, but we are creating opportunities till the last minute. There is a structure of playing and we follow that,” he said.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
