A deal with close to the half line to steal the ball. A gust of wind runs in a circle from the sting down. a deafening noise. go an try. and a purpose. “That,” says New Zealand captain Nick Woods, “is India in a nutshell.”
Hardik Singh – the orchestrator of that motion sequence towards Spain that noticed an trade of sticks and became a purpose in simply eight seconds – pulled out of the World Cup on the eve of India’s quarter-final playoff match towards New Zealand . But exchange Hardik with Neelkant Sharma or Manpreet Singh or Vivek Sagar Prasad and the consequence would in all probability have been the identical.
To paraphrase a trending meme, if you happen to needed to choose one factor that screams Indian hockey with out really saying Indian hockey, it is this – fast turnovers and fast counterattacks. It spelled doom for Spain within the opener, endangered ‘basball-ing’ England in a goalless thriller and overwhelmed a fearless Wales within the closing group stage match.
And that’s what is predicted from New Zealand, a possible banana peel rival within the knockout recreation. “Their rebounding is amazing. When they’re in flow, it’s hard to stop them, especially when they’re playing at home,” coach Greg Nicol stated. Woods smiled: “It’s a little tough.” To the extent that New Zealand spent a big a part of their final two coaching periods fine-tuning their counter controls and one/two-vs-one conditions.
workforce identification
As penalty corners grow to be weak to defence, turnovers within the opponent’s half have grow to be different deadly routes to create goal-scoring alternatives, with groups exerting extra stress, stealing possession within the attacking third and overloading. Does It’s a thrill to observe India do it in entrance of packed stands – and beneath Graham Reid, it is quick changing into the workforce’s hallmark.
“Every moment on the pitch you should be trying to score,” Reid advised The Indian Express. “It’s probably a hangover from my days (as coach) in Australia and Rick’s (Charlesworth, as an assistant coach) days. Makes it look nice. That’s the way I like to play and that’s the way my team likes to play.”
New Zealand has learn India’s playbook. And to counter this, they will stack individuals in their very own half, block direct passing channels in the direction of their targets, forestall India from getting near the 6m mark contained in the circle and Can maintain the scoreline as shut as attainable till the fourth quarter. Whatever progress they’ve made, India have been hard-pressed towards groups adopting this type, together with the Black Sticks, who performed two shut matches towards India within the Pro League on the Kalinga Stadium final 12 months.
“In the first game, we really put India under severe pressure. Went up and really forced them to change what they were doing,” Nicole stated. “So we’ve got some things we’ll be bringing to the party.”
Reid expects his ahead line to at the very least be a part of the occasion. After an unimpressive win towards Wales, Reid was at pains to clarify why his workforce lacked tempo inside an attacking third. “We got in each other’s way, a little too crowded,” he stated. “A lot of things, to be honest. Choices, decisions…”
Approaching the ‘6m Ring’
He was unable to cover his frustration at these recurring points. While India’s counterattacks have been exhilarating, recklessness contained in the attacking third and incapacity to get into the scoring zone has allow them to down again and again. By Reed’s calculations, roughly 70 to 80 p.c of discipline targets are created from the ‘5–6 meter ring across the purpose’. He had stated, “The scoring zone is what you’re trying to get to and it’s tough, especially when everyone’s crowding that area.”
The workforce has educated for months in Bengaluru for this. The goal was to enhance the standard of the alternatives and make it a enjoyable train. They started ranking the possibilities created on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being for pictures from shut vary and one for both taking pointless touches or taking pictures from the sting of the circle. “The goal,” he stated, “was to turn 1s and 2s into 3s, 4s and 5s.”
For that the workforce has to be taught to be affected person; Roll the ball from one aspect of the pitch to the opposite, discover a hole after which enter to get into the 6m ring, an imaginary line across the purpose from the place most discipline targets are scored. This may be via aerial balls performed forwards from midfield that hug the byline, runs from the flanks to get behind defenders or defence-splitting via balls, in entrance of purpose. Expect to get a deflection.
With penalty corners out of attain for India, turnovers and counter-attacks will hopefully turn out to be useful of their battle for a spot within the final eight.
And guests declare to have finished their homework. “We have to be really smart on the ball, don’t give them free turnovers,” Nicol stated, “and when they get turnover balls, we have to be disciplined and patient in our defense.”
Quarterfinal Playoff:
22 january
5 PM: Malaysia vs Spain (Winner will face Australia within the quarters)
7 PM: India vs New Zealand (Winner will play Belgium within the quarters)
23 January
5 PM: Argentina vs South Korea (Winner will face Netherlands within the quarters)
7 PM: France vs Germany (Winner will face England within the quarters)
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
