We are ready for the aggressive Aussies after this show: Brasa

Shubhodeep Chakravarty, Hindustan Times

Revenge for the 4-2 loss to England in the World Cup in February couldn’t have been sweeter for India coach Jose Brasa and his team. A tense win against the world No. 4 team on Tuesday gave the hosts a berth in the final of the Commonwealth Games and a chance to clinch the elusive gold.

Speaking after the match, Brasa was jubilant. “It was a solid performance from the team. The match may have gone into extra-time and then into penalty-strokes but we were dominant throughout. It was only because of their goalkeeper that we failed to clinch the winner in the regulation period,” he said. James Fair, the English goalkeeper, repeatedly blocked Indian offences once the scores had been levelled in the second half.

Attack on his goal, though, was a well-planned move by the Indians who learnt from the mistakes they had made when the two teams had locked horns earlier. “We saw video footages of our match against England during the World Cup. We knew what we had to do and each player played the pre-defined role,” said Sandeep Singh.

Skipper Rajpal Singh, though, cautioned that studying video footages won’t be enough to counter the Australians come Thursday. The Kookaburras are yet to lose a match in the Commonwealth Games since the sport was introduced in 1998. The 5-2 loss in the league stages would also linger for the hosts. “They are an aggressive side. They will come at us hard but we will be ready. As for now, I want me and the team to enjoy our win today,” said Rajpal.