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India had a strong first half and scored two goals in the second quarter but struggled to maintain the same defensive intensity after the break.
India lose their second Pool D match against England on August 17. (Picture Credit: X/@TheHockeyIndia)
India head coach Craig Fulton admitted that his side’s defensive lapses in the third quarter proved costly as England handed them a 4-2 defeat in their men’s Hockey World Cup second pool match in Amstelveen on Monday.
India had a strong first half and scored two goals in the second quarter but struggled to maintain the same defensive intensity after the break.
“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.”
Fulton, however, said India must quickly regroup for their final pool match against arch-rivals Pakistan on Wednesday in which they can’t afford to lose.
“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.”
India’s most experienced player Manpreet Singh also rued India’s defensive lapses, while stressing the need for greater 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 different variations from penalty corners but England’s defence held 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.
Manpreet said that India played according to structure and continued to create opportunities till the last.
“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.
(With inputs from PTI)
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18India’s head coach Craig Fulton stated that the team must quickly regroup for their match against Pakistan and learn from their recent loss. Player Manpreet Singh also emphasised the need for greater discipline.
Ask News18About the Author
Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist at CNN-News18, where he has been covering cricket, football, and major sporting events from around the world since July 1, 2024. Driven by a passion for storytelli…Read More
August 17, 2026, 10:55 PM IST
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