India head coach Graham Reid’s disappointment surrounded only the first two quarters of the semi-final against Germany which his team lost 2-4.
“We didn’t put our best foot forward in the first half. We were better in the second but it’s very hard to get back from 1-4 down.”
Reid, addressing a virtual media conference, was fluent in praise for the opponents. “Germany showed what we needed to be doing. They defended well, tackled well and played with intensity.
“We tried to do the same but did not. In attack, too, we didn’t create quality chances and did not force penalty corners from which scoring would create scoreboard pressure,” the Australian added.
“We let ourselves down with the basics and we learned from them (the Germans). Basics need to be flawless – the passing, trapping, the intensity to get in front of the attackers…”
Reid took the positives from the encounter, despite the disappointment. “If we can learn from this experience it would be very valuable,” he said.
“Our decision-making wasn’t as good as it should have been. For example, a forward’s got to decide if he’s going for a foot in the circle to force a PC or go for goal directly. The midfield too didn’t make many good decisions.
“But Boby made a decision and went for it,” he said, referring to the forward’s goal to reduce the margin to 2-4 at the fag end.
Asked about whether he’s hiding any anger? Reid said there was no anger but frustration. “When we talk about things and they don’t happen, it’s frustrating as a coach,” he said.
Reid acknowledged the fact that the Germans’ height and reach put them at an advantage. “Yes, but it is what it is. That’s what you get at this level. And that’s why weights and conditioning are so important,” he said.
“It was a physical game and they were pushing us hard and closer to the circle it was getting harder and harder for us.”
Anger, frustration or not, Reid reflected on the gains. “This has been a learning opportunity for these guys. We are going to look at the video for quite a while to see what we have to do at this level.
“All teams grow in a tournament like this. It was a tough ask for us to come to a world tournament with zero competition at this level.
“When you play the senior team at the camp, it’s not the same thing as competing at this level. “I’m proud of these guys,” Reid said.
“The German coach (Valentin Altenburg) said to me, after I told him you outplayed us, that we came back very well in the second half.
“I think we have to admire that. They went down fighting and we’ll be taking as many positives as we can and on Sunday (in the bronze medal game against France) I’m sure we can get these guys back to the level they need to be,” Reid concluded.