High-flying Indian team’s problem of converting chances into field goals remains and could hurt them in big matches
India vs Belgium, December 2, first quarter: Birendra Lakra fires in a ball from the half line into the Belgian circle. Dilpreet Singh deflects it to Mandeep Singh who, despite being unmarked right in front of the goal, can't get it past goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.
India vs Canada, December 8, third quarter: Mandeep Singh makes a fine run from the right flank and passes the ball on to a waiting Lalit Upadhyay, who fails to collect it metres outside the Canadian citadel.
Before the start of the 2018 Hockey Men's World Cup, India head coach Harendra Singh harped upon sticking to the theory of Cs in his quest to tackling India's finishing problems in front of the goal -- being "cool, calm, composed and confident".
A week-and-a-half and three matches into the tournament, it's evident that the coach is still trying to drill the same point into the minds of his wards.
The hosts have managed to tick a lot of boxes en route to ensuring a direct quarterfinal entry, yet one that remains to be inked in their colourful display so far is what the players do – or not do, rather -- with the ball in front of the opposition goal.
In a tournament where they've largely sailed, the trouble in applying finishing touches inside the circle could well be the iceberg that sinks Manpreet Singh & Co come the big matches, big teams and big players starting with their quarterfinals on Thursday.
It's an issue that has been the team's perennial problem for quite a while now – boys flaunting their natural skill to outfox the opponents and depositing the ball into the D, only to resemble a frozen bank account when the time comes to deliver that final touch for a goal.
Of the 12 times that India have managed to find the net in this World Cup so far, seven have been field goals.
Decent numbers, you'd think? Not if you dwell deeper.
The Indians made as many as 29 circle entries in their opener against South Africa, scoring a goal that wasn't via a penalty corner or stroke just thrice. Against Belgium, the circle entry:field goal ratio was 12:1, and versus the Canadians, it came spiraling down to a worrying 39:3.
And a common thread in India's loose ends is that their ineffectiveness in front of the goal is at its peak from the onset.
Only one of the seven field goals that India have managed has come in the first half. While the home team pumped in all the three field goals in the final 15 minutes against Canada, their lone field goal against Belgium too came in the final quarter.
It speaks as much about this young team's ability to turn on the heat in the second half as it does about semi-professional sides like South Africa and Canada being unable to sustain the physical strength and stamina throughout the course of the 60 minutes.
Come the quarterfinal stage, where the likely scenario throws up an India-Netherlands clash, the Indians will be matched toe to toe, leg to leg and pace to pace, no matter which opponent it turns out to be.
It's there that India's inability to convert fairly open chances might hurt them, leaving too much at the hands of the dragflickers or someone's individual brilliance.
Harendra is well aware of that, and has time and again spoken about the issue and its seemingly simple solution comprising the "Cs".
"We were lacking in the final execution (in front of the goal)," Harendra said after India's 5-1 victory over Canada in their final league game on Saturday.
"We are missing in the final pass. We have to wait for our moment, we can't rush towards the ball. We were too much in a hurry.
"I think we have to throw out the childish instinct," he added.
Indeed, because from hereon, the battle will be no child's play.
INDIA'S FINISHING PROBLEMS
India have made a high number of circle entries into the opposition D in the 3 manages so far, but the returns in the form of goals have been fairly low
N ZONE
33 No. of circle entries India have managed to make in the first half of the 3 matches so far, managing to convert it into a goal only once
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It's an issue that has been the team's perennial problem for quite a while now – boys flaunting their natural skill to outfox the opponents and depositing the ball into the D, only to resemble a frozen bank account when the time comes to deliver that final touch for a goal.
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