Indian Express: We didn’t score as many goals from opportunities that we created, says Roelant Oltmans

Roelant Oltmans said that India’s defence was up to the mark against New Zealand and praised the forward line as well.

India hockey team coach Roelant Oltmans was disappointed after India’s performance against Malaysia on Saturday but he said that India did will to stop New Zealand in the bronze-medal play-off at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on Sunday.

“I don’t think New Zealand had one serious shot on the goal in the whole game. We did not concede a single corner,” said Oltmans.

India beat New Zealand 4-0 to finish third but they missed the chance to play the final after losing to Malaysia on Saturday. India needed a two-goal win against Malaysia to enter the final.

Oltmans said that the defence was up to the mark against New Zealand. He also praised the forward line for the goals.
“Our defence was really well organised today. They kept the structure really well,” said Oltmans. “We also managed to create a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. If one wants to be critical, we didn’t score as many goals from the opportunities that we created. The way we finished that off is not good enough yet. That is something we need to work hard on.We were also unlucky at times as the ball rebounded off bar on one instance.”