Fulton blames third-quarter lapses as England beat India 4-2; India must regroup for Pakistan
India head coach Craig Fulton said defensive lapses in the third quarter cost his side as England beat India 4-2 in their second pool match of the men's Hockey World Cup on Monday. The result leaves India needing a response and Fulton demanded greater composure for their next match.
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 and England took control of the match. "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.
Fulton added: "England played like a world number three team. We created a few chances but couldn't convert those." He also assessed his attack's output: "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 tried several variations from penalty corners throughout the game but England's defence stood firm. Manpreet Singh highlighted those set-piece struggles and the need for discipline: "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 also acknowledged the defensive errors that cost India late in the game while noting positives in structure and chance-creation: "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. "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.
India will meet arch-rivals Pakistan in their final pool match on Wednesday; Fulton stressed the immediate demands on his team, saying: "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."
