With little more than two months left for the hockey World Cup to begin, India’s Pro League campaign has not got off to a perfect start. Although they won the opener against New Zealand after trailing 1-3 at one point, they went down to Spain 2-3 in the second game.
Despite the scoreline suggesting they were close games, India’s performance wasn’t very convincing over the last weekend. However, they have the chance to put on a better show when they face off against New Zealand once again at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
First and foremost, the hosts will have to tighten up their defence. Not only did they concede six goals, they also gave away as many as 16 penalty corners over the two matches.
Speaking on the issue, coach Graham Reid agreed with it and added the team has been trying out some different structures. “We gave them too many opportunities including penalty corners. We have been working on different scenarios and have been trying out our zonal press a little bit better,” the coach said during a virtual press conference.
He however was pleased with how the team played in the second match. “I was happy with the defensive structure during the Spain match but let ourselves down during vital moments. There were two or three mistakes that cost us,” Reid added.
Secondly, the team’s intensity has also been worrying the coach. Although the team maintained it well against Spain, against New Zealand they were lagging in the middle stages when the Black Sticks scored three goals within a span of 13 minutes.
“It's a matter of making sure that we are switched on every time we are on the field whether it is after quarter time, half-time or three-quarter time. It’s a tough thing as a coach to always get your team to do that but it’s something that we need to keep working on,” the coach said.
Another area that the team will be looking to improve upon is converting the chances that come their way. Against New Zealand, they won one PC but against Spain they won five but could convert only one. As far as circle penetrations and shots are concerned, against New Zealand it was 18 and 9 while against Spain, it was 25 and 7 respectively. Given the high numbers, India should have scored more but sadly they couldn’t.
“We need to maintain the scoreboard pressure. We have been creating chances but we need to convert them. So, in the coming matches the target makes good use of the opportunities and score more and win more PCs,” said captain Harmanpreet Singh.
Meanwhile, it was good to see during the match against New Zealand how the team used the aerial balls to good effect. It’s something that hasn’t been India’s strong point in the past and hopefully they can further improve it in Friday’s match.
“You play where the opponent team will let you. The aerial balls are a major part of their game but it is harder when your opponents are marking you man to man. New Zealand were playing much more zonal so you can get away from the player and throw those balls in,” added the coach.
Meanwhile, New Zealand will be eager to earn their first win of the tournament after losing both their games despite being in the lead. Even though the players have been playing for various clubs in Europe, not playing together might have made it difficult for them to pull it through. It might not be a welcome fact for the home crowd, but now that they have been together for a while, they might get a positive result on Friday.
