Bhubaneswar: India need to consistently score goals under tight marking to narrow the gap with top teams like Australia, said coach Graham Reid after his first major assignment with the national hockey team.
On their tour of Australia that concluded on Friday, India lost both the games against the hosts after beating the A team. Speaking about the tour comprising five matches, Reid, who was appointed as India coach last month, said that the assignment in his home country was an opportunity for him to understand his team better. “It was good to get a view of where the team (India are raked five) is at, compared to the World Number 2 side (Australia). They have been playing against world class oppositions on a regular basis in the FIH Pro-League since the World Cup last year, and this showed up in our two matches against them,” he said. “For me, those matches provided a good bench-mark as to the level we have to be at as we move towards the Olympic qualification. So, in terms of preparation for our upcoming FIH Men’s Series Finals (here next month), the tour was ideal. “It provided me a great opportunity to view players at much closer quarters and under the pressure of a world-class team. Our first quarter in the first Match on Wednesday night showed me the level this team can play, we just need to do that on a more consistent basis. Not only across quarters but across games,” said Reid. (PTI)
