Indian women’s coach Janneke Schopman wary of New Zealand’s strength in counterattack

The Indian Eves are not in a great position after two games at the Women’s hockey World Cup. The Indians have only managed to secure two points from two games. Although they are unbeaten they have not impressed with their performances. Indian managed to hold England 1-1 in the opening game followed by yet another 1-1 stalemate against Asian rivals China.

Both the times forward Vandana Katariya stood up for India and scored two crucial goal which has resulted in the two points that they have earned till now. While the other players need to score more goals, the Indian defence also needs to hold their own against opposition attacks. It has not been a great tournament for the Indian Eves as they have not played to their potential.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw against China, chief coach Janneke Schopman shared how she thought India had the chances to score early on in the game against a very resolute Chinese defence. She said, “I thought we started well against a tight Chinese defense. We were unlucky to not score early on and one moment of not paying attention defensively resulted in us conceding a goal. After that we struggled for a bit but when we found the space, we were able to play some good combinations.”

She highlighted how Indian did not put much pressure on the Chinese defenders after scoring the equalizer and allowed them to settle down for the rest of the match. Schopman shared how her girls were not aggressive enough. “The PC goal was great but felt like we forgot to push through after that with China being more aggressive in the end phase. We are where we are but obviously, we would have liked to have more points. Our pool is incredibly tough and small things will make the difference,”the Indian coach shared.

India will next face New Zealand in their last World CUp groupstage fixture. New Zealand surprisingly are sitting at the top of the table with four points. They have drawn against China and have defeated England 3-1 and have secured four points in total. Speaking about the last and th must win match for India, Schopman highlighted how the Indian defence needs to be wary about their counter attack, something that proved to the difference against England. “New Zealand will be a tough team to play again. They are very dangerous in their counterattack and we will have to be ready for that, on the ball we have to play to our strengths,” she concluded.