India head coach Graham Reid on Wednesday credited his defenders for leading the team to the semi-finals of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021.
Indian defenders especially Yashdeep Siwach, vice-captain Sanjay and Sharda Nand Tiwary put on a brilliant performance which helped India Keep Belgium away for a lone goal win at the Kalinga Stadium and set up a last-four clash with six-time champions Germany on Friday.
Tiwary scored the all-important goal with a drag-flick in the 21st minute, when Sanjay sold a perfect dummy and swung the ball in front of him to make a powerful flick past the 17-year-old from Uttar Pradesh into Belgium’s goal.
“Yes, our defense today was much better than the first game against France. We are working a lot on this. Our marking was tight today, probably not in the first ten minutes of the game. I was talking to Vivek (captain Vivek Sagar Prasad) about it and the good thing is we know we can play a lot better, you know,” Reid said at the post-match press conference.
The coach also praised both goalkeeper Prashant Kumar Chauhan and Pawan for their stellar performances. “Both keepers played really well today, it’s nice to see them shine,” he added.
Reid said he still has work to do and there are areas the team needs to focus on during the one-day break ahead of the semi-finals.
“We’ve got work to do and it keeps us busy over the next couple of days,” Reid said, adding that the team management will be looking at the clip and choosing the areas they need to work on.
He said it is part of a plan to change the goalkeeper after every quarter. India started with Prashant Chauhan in the goal and Pawan replaced him in the second. It was keeper Pawan who was on goal in the final quarter and made some brilliant saves that saved India and helped them reach the semi-finals.
“The thing about giving keeper’s quarters is that it tells them that we trust them and it’s a good thing that if a coach trusts you, you can play with confidence. Hopefully at the end of it all, we will come up with two keepers who have played in the World Cup semi-finals or finals, no matter what we do. It’s a good experience to have. This is the logic behind it. The game has changed a lot in the sense that in normal play we play a lot of rotations, so maybe it makes little sense (to change after every quarter). At the end of the day, they are both very good keepers and they complement each other, one being good at some parts and the other being good at others. So, it makes sense for that as well,” Reid said.
Asked if he had to pick a particular aspect of the Indian team’s performance so far, Reid said he would choose his boys’ fight after the loss against France.
“The one thing that impressed me the most was the battle fought by the team. In the first seven minutes of the game it was clear that we were a bit sleepy but after that everywhere in the game the focus was on his game, his effort and that’s all you can ask for as a coach and sometimes you don’t We do. ‘If there is effort then not all do the right thing, which impresses me,’ he said.
Reid said India cannot take Germany lightly in the semi-finals as they always have strong teams in this age group. Germany is the most successful country to have won the most titles at the Junior World Cup. They were winning titles even when I was playing.
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