‘Show composure’: Fulton’s message to India ahead of must-not-lose Pakistan clash

Team India (Pic credit: Hockey India)

NEW DELHI: India head coach Craig Fulton has urged his side to show greater composure and sharpen their defensive discipline against Pakistan after England exposed their weaknesses in a 2-4 defeat in their second Pool D match of the Hockey World Cup on Monday.India produced a strong first half and led 2-1 at the break after goals from Harmanpreet Singh and Dilpreet Singh. But England turned the contest around after half-time, scoring three times to leave India needing at least a point against Pakistan in their final pool match on Wednesday to progress to the second round.Fulton admitted India’s defensive intensity dropped after the interval.“The first half was good. We got PCs on the counter-attack and came back nicely with a bit more control.

In the third quarter our defence was not as good as it was supposed to be,” Fulton said after the match.“England played like a world number three team. We created a few chances but couldn't convert those.”

Fulton calls for composure against Pakistan

The India coach was quick to shift focus to the Pakistan game, recognising the importance of Wednesday’s clash. India have three points from two matches after beating Wales in their opener, while Pakistan have one point.

“If we had won today, we still have to do the business in the next game. We just have to be better on the ball in the final match and show a bit of composure. We needed to press out and put some pressure on them,” he said.“The forward line played well but we needed to score three-plus goals and we could only score two. It's just the second match and we will learn from this loss. We have another big opportunity against Pakistan and the boys are motivated for that.”India had taken control of the contest after falling behind in the first quarter. Nicholas Bandurak put England ahead in the 14th minute before Harmanpreet equalised from a penalty corner. Dilpreet then completed the turnaround in the second quarter.England, however, dominated the third quarter. Stuart Rushmere levelled in the 39th minute before Henry Croft put England ahead four minutes later. Bandurak added his second from a penalty corner in the 55th minute to seal the victory.

Manpreet stresses defensive discipline

Experienced midfielder Manpreet Singh also pointed to defensive lapses as a key reason for the defeat and warned India cannot afford similar mistakes against Pakistan.“We were playing so well till the third quarter but there were a few defensive lapses in the last quarter which cost us. Overall, the performance was good but the defence has to be very strong against the top teams and we need to convert our chances also,” Manpreet said.India tried several variations from penalty corners, but England’s defence stood firm.“We were trying variations on PCs but they defended well. We cannot underestimate any team. Pakistan also have good penalty corner specialists, so we must not concede PCs against them. We have to earn more PCs in the upcoming matches,” he said.

Manpreet also stressed that India continued to create opportunities despite England’s pressure.“Our defenders broke their full press many times. It's a long tournament and we will learn from the mistakes. You cannot play with the same momentum for the whole 60 minutes, but we are creating opportunities till the last minute. There is a structure of playing and we follow that,” he said.With England now sitting at the top of Pool D with two wins, India’s attention turns firmly to Pakistan. A draw would be enough to take India through, while defeat would end their campaign.