India needs to step up to have any chance of winning the Champions Trophy
The dream run has halted, it’s time for some reality check. Two matches & two losses on the trot. India have started their Champions trophy campaign in a very disappointing fashion. Back to back losses against Germany and Argentina means India are now at the bottom of pool B and may have yet another disastrous Champions Trophy.
India’s defence has been quite poor and will be a major cause of worry for Roelant Oltmans
The first defeat to Germany exposed India’s perennial problem yet again. After matching the Germans toe to toe throughout the game, a draw seemed like a fitting conclusion but it was not to be. The Indian defenders were caught napping in the dying seconds and were punished again by a last minute goal. This is not an isolated incident though, as India has conceded goals in the final seconds since a long time and they don’t seem to learn from their mistakes.
After the misfortune of the first match, the second match was thought to be the one where the Indian team would display their recent rampaging form and restart their Champions Trophy campaign. However, the script of this match had even more harsh ending for India. India were convincingly beaten 4-2 by Argentina to the dismay of the supporters who had come in large numbers to watch Roelant Oltmans’ men in action at Bhubaneshwar.
Although the Indian players played better in the game, their Achilles heel – the defence, again betrayed them. Twice surging ahead in the game, they allowed Argentina to level each time and finally gave them the time and space in the final quarter to snatch a victory.
Indian hockey team looks bereft of any ideas when attacking
While other teams are on a scoring spree, India has scored just two goals and allowed five in the first two matches. It is not a delightful sight for the home fans. In both the games, India had to mostly rely on long distance balls to penetrate the circle. There is a lack of fluidity in passing up front. As a result of which India has earned very few penalty corners, which corners become a prime source of goals for any team struggling to score in open play.
Indian attackers were also the culprits of over-dribbling and slow build-up and passing.This was very much evident in the second game against Argentina.
It is time that the Indians step up and put up a good performance at home
There is still a long way to go from here and India needs to get its Champions Trophy campaign back on track by dishing out some winning performances. Their next opponents are the Netherlands. It is not an easy task to face the Dutch, especially after two consecutive losses. However, India can take heart from their recent triumph in the Asia cup and turn the things around.
First, the team needs to bring their back-line in order. India needs to be more alert at the rear and put an end to their conundrum of allowing last minute goals. In both the games, although Raghunath and Rupinder were solid at times, momentary lapses in concentration were visible now and then. In the match against Argentina, it happened more than a couple of times which allowed them to come back into the game and eventually win the tie.
Although the Indian midfield was passing intricately, they lacked the killer instinct in the final third. More creativity needs to be injected up front otherwise out-scoring the opponent will be a distant dream. Indian forwards need to be more ruthless.
If we take a look at the recent Asia Cup and the test matches down under, India did not score generously, they won by small margins. India needs to step-up and chalk up more goals if they want to have any chance of winning the Champions Trophy, the only trophy which has eluded the eight-times Olympic gold winners.