is it a fair observation to say Indian hockey men's team are too dependant on penalties to score goals?
We have tried every thing. Opted every model, hired every kind of expert and used every available techniques.
There was a time we were criticised for poor PC conversion rate. Now it is so better that we seems to have become dependent on it.
There is something subterranean going on which we can not see or perceive from the surface. That is why I am taliking about big shake up.
If you ask me I will disband the team and start afresh with young players with cut off age below 20 years.
As far as Australian team is concern then they play similar kind of hockey which NZ also plays. Yesterday all their attacking positions were same like the way junior school teams play.
I call it lazy Hockey or in soccer analogy off side player position which is allowed in hockey. God know how many times we shout off our lungs to guide kids to stand off-side and oposite right and left poles of the opponents goal posts. Looks like they studied us and found certain weakness and then opted opted for this strategy which they have been playing since childhood. Throughout my coaching with my son and other junior teams I struggled to opt between strong dribbling or 3D skills or this off side opportune game. A seminar I attended with Belgium coach as main speaker, who laughed at my question on 3D skills which Indians and Pakistanis love the most. He suggested reaching first that is long passes, quick retrieval and fast running.
The idea behind off-side positioning at the cost of weak midfield and at times weak defence is that the opponent goal keeper never rests and you are never able to crowd their 25 yards line because you keep marking those off-side players, I mean, you can not risk leaving them unattended. From the very start of the game your forwards are spread out and can not play short passes inside attacking circle.
European countries build their games from strong midfield and long passes. Australians and Kiwis strong forwards, strong defence, weak centre and short passes.
Looks like we haven’t profiled Australian team and their range of strategies which they rely on the most.
So what was the antidote of the Australian strategy?
You do not take the bait of their off-side positioning and leave them alone. You keep their 25 yard crowded with your aggressive forward players (a clever substitution and selection is a must) Those off-siders will slowly start coming back to help their under pressure defence. You have been slapped with 5 plus goals every time. It won’t be different this again. Leave it to your minimum defence and sharp goalkeeper you keep crowding their 25 yard line with long passes.
In a nut shell the answer to strong Australian forward is not strong Indian defence but strong Indian forward.