In his post-match analysis after the 5-1 win against India at the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai on Sunday, German coach Mirko Stenzel was full of praise for his side’s defence throughout the night and the intensity in the first quarter, more than the attacking unit that pumped in the five goals. But one line of his post-match analysis stood out: “To beat the individual-skilled players from India the way we did is incredibly hard.” It was evidently meant as a compliment to India’s style of hockey, but it also gave a glimpse into why Germany were able to thwart the hosts’ attacking forays on the night effectively. Just by blocking of passing lines and staying within their structures, Germany barely allowed India to have any attacking joy.
When the scoreline reads 1-5 in favour of the opposition, it’s easy to think that the defence had a nightmare outing – and to an extent, that was true as PR Sreejesh said later that the silly mistakes proved costly. But India’s problems were compounded by the fact that the errors started from the top of the pitch and trickled down. At the Under-21 level, the consensus is that performances and development matter more than actual results, so the hope for this Indian junior hockey team would be that the heavy defeat at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium was just a steep learning curve. However, the underlying performance exposed potentially bigger concerns for a bunch of players who would hope to go on and have significant careers with the senior team.
India’s midfield and defensive frailities were brutally exposed by Germany’s high intensity early on, as they had as many as five attacking circle entries in the first 8 minutes. But here’s a look at how India’s attacking connections, or lack thereof, let them down just in the first half when Germany effectively killed the match.
Q1, 1st min: Right from the pushback, when trying to switch possession from defence to offence, Ankit Pal hit a simple square pass from the left flank straight into a German player’s stick under no defensive pressure, it led to a counterattack and a shot on goal.
Q1, 5th min: Manmeet Singh, who will perhaps finish the tournament as India’s most impressive outfield player for his overall work rate at both ends of the pitch, had the ball high up the field down the left flank but held on to it too long and was dispossessed easily by the German press.
Q2, 18th min: Manmeet released Rosan Kujur down the right flank as India had a rare chance to counterattack but the midfielder, after dribbling at pace into the final third, tamely lost possession before even attempting a pass as two defenders covered him.
Q2, 24th min: India were able to create a rare offensive turnover when Ingalemba won the ball back in midfield and quickly released Manmeet down the center but the midfielder was not on the same page as forward Dilraj Singh, as the through ball into the circle went so far away from the latter’s reach. Manmeet gestured to Dilraj that he wanted to make the run but even if he had, he was nowhere near it.
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Q2, 29th min: Gurjot Singh was found by Ankit down the right channel, but the forward’s attempted through ball between two defenders was far away from Sourabh Kushwaha as the two players exchanged stares – not for the first time, Indian players were not on the same page.
While this is not a complete list, the larger point is that India’s individuality brought them down, and there were hardly give-and-go quick passing moves in the first 30 minutes that put the German defence under any pressure. Jasper Ditzer, in fact, had no real save to make until the third quarter, while India’s first of two Penalty Corners came only in Q4, which brought about their only goal. If the junior team is hoping to play a style similar to the senior team’s identity so that the transition could be easier, there wasn’t enough evidence for it. Craig Fulton’s mantra is defend to win, but he also insists on solid structures and quick passing moves, but Sreejesh’s junior team didn’t show enough of that tactical nous.
Before the tournament, Sreejesh gave a peek into his coaching philosophy: “When teams want to attack us, we may try the Korean or Indian style of hockey, where we just stay back and go for it on the counterattack. Sometimes teams love to play zonal, so we try to play man-to-man against them and vice versa. It depends on the team that we are playing against. But definitely, we are Indians, so we do have that flavor of skills, of running with the ball. I entertain that; we don’t want to forget our culture or way of playing, but in a useful way, rather than just using it wildly.” It’s fair to say that consistent link-up play was missing, not just against Germany, but as Sreejesh repeatedly pointed out during the tournament, on other nights too, when flowing passing moves were less frequent than individual dribbles. When the dust settles on this defeat, it’s perhaps the critical issue that Indian hockey, as a whole, would need to address.