India hockey coach Graham Reid lauds team's wins against England in FIH Pro League
Indian men's hockey team coach Graham Reid lauded the team's commendable performance in their two FIH Pro League matches against England at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
India beat England 3-2 in the shoot-out in the first match and won 4-3 in regulation time in the second. The wins have helped India propel to the top spot in the FIH Pro League points table with 21 points from 10 matches.
Graham Reid said that his players showed great heart and spirit. The coach opined that the matches against England will help the team build character going forward.
"We seem to have a habit of not finishing those games when we have control of them. We let the other team get back into it. But I suppose that's hockey nowadays. We lost control a bit in the third quarter and we need to look into that. Matches like these help in building characters and it's always good to come out on top," Graham Reid said.
The coach said the Indian team did try a few variations in the two matches against England and was happy with the way the team had tried them out.
"The corners went in tonight and we had some opportunities to try some variations. It was a really good fight with them and our boys showed a good heart and good spirits," he said.
Graham Reid confident of a tough fight against Germany in FIH Pro League
India will next play Germany in their FIH Pro League sojourn on April 14 and 15 at the Kaling Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The India vs Germany matches were scheduled to take place on March 12 and 13 but had to be postponed due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the German team.
The revised dates were announced over the weekend.
Graham Reid said the preparations against Germany will be top-notch as their opponents are a tough team. The coach said fans can look forward to two good and highly competitive games against Germany.
"It's good to win and reach the top of the table, but now we have to prepare for Germany, who are also a very tough team. They will always bring a competitive team. They are a great hockey nation. We look forward to some good games coming up in two weeks," Graham Reid said.
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