Writing was on the wall we didn’t read it
Signs were ominous we didn’t heed it
We missed the bus in Asiad when we lost to China
We still failed to see the Aina (Mirror)
Our preparation for the Olympics qualifier had seen ups and down
The only alternative for us was to win the qualifier crown
We reached Santiago with hopes high
We only had to beat the teams numbering five
We could’nt have asked for easier pool
We could have done it if we had kept our cool
Teams like Austria, Mexico, Russia, Chile hardly matter
Great Britain was the only team we had to batter
Against weaker teams we did win easy
But we did concede soft goals easy
Against a strong team it was clear we could crumble
Against not so strong Great Britain we did tumble
Against them in the league match we did play well
But still there was lot of room to jell
In the finals we were all at sea
At the end it was Great Britain full of glee
Our deep defence played too deep
With the mid field no coordination we could keep
Between the mid field & forwards no understanding at all
Therefore on Britain goal we hardly made a call
Great Britain team controlled the game and coordinated well
There was only one team on the field you could tell
Great Britain qualification for Olympics was no fluke
Inspite of all lame excuses the Indian team deserved the rebuke.

After a short poetic thought about our performance at the Olympic qualifier at Chile, I would now like to analyse some of the main reasons for our defeat.

Effect of initial easier matches

We did win our pool matches against Russia 8-0, Austria 7-3, Mexico 18-1, and Chile 4-1. But the soft goals we conceded against Austria and Mexico and Chile should have alerted the Coach, There were definitely a few holes in our defence. Also these matches may have set in complacency in the team.

Marking inside the ‘D’

Number of times it has been seen that even when we had 5-6 players inside the ‘D’ against 2-3 players of the opposition, we have conceded goals. We seem to be more worried about marking open spaces rather than marking the players. We should remember that it is the player who will ultimately score a goal.

Possession of the ball & manouvering for space

To retain possession of the game our deep defence did rotate the ball amongst themselves but the midfield or forward line made little effort to create space for self or others. Most of the time the end result was Dalip Tirkey taking a hard hit which nine times out of ten did not reach any one or was stopped by opponents, leading to a counter attack. Where as when Great Britain had possession and rotated the ball they always had at least 3 players in position to receive the ball.

Individual Play

With no coordination between the deep defence, half line and forward line, most of the time players resorted to individual break throughs leading to nowhere.

Penalty Corner Conversion

Execution of penalty corners was poor to say the least. In the Finals we couldn’t even stop 2 of the 5 penalty corners. Our main stopper Ignas Tirkey was out due to injury and the number two stopper lacked confidence due to lack of practice.

Over Anxiety to score

Once we were down by 2 goals we were under pressure to score. In our over anxiety to score we made a number of unwanted mistakes. On the other hand the Great Britain team grew in confidence and were unlucky to miss a few scoring opportunities. Had they converted all their chances the score might have been 6-0.

Temporary Suspension due Yellow Card

In the league as well as the finals we had the ignonimty of two players being given temporary suspension for more than 10 minutes each. At least two / three of these were needless infringements and could have been avoided. The team needs to understand the implication of playing with 10 players when a player is out due suspension. These are :-

– A player short, the team tries not to concede a goal and therefore is on the defensive.
– This puts extra pressure on defence leading to making silly mistakes.
– 10 players doing the work of 11 players is extra drain on stamina.
– With more attacking opportunities the opposing team gains in confidence.
– Even when the player is called in, shifting from defensive mindset to offensive takes time.
– Player shown the yellow card plays under pressure and is restrained as one more yellow card would lead to a Red card.

Stereo Type Approach

It looked that very little thought goes into strategy and tactics. Even if these are discussed, the players fail to implement these once the play starts. There was very little variety in our approach. The opposition could easily read our game and take counter measures.

Umpiring

No umpire till date has been able to satisfy both the teams. Blaming the umpires for our defeat is not justified. No umpire can put the ball in the goal for you or prevent you from putting it into the goal provided you are worth your salt.

In the end I would like to stress that rather than forwarding lame excuses it is better to analyse the reasons for our defeat thread bear and rectify these in times to come.

Our non-qualification for Olympics may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Large scale debate that it has generated may enable us to find the right answers. The time is not to despair but carry out repair.

If we think “we can we can”.