Bhubaneswar: India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said indecisiveness and the inability to analyze match-situation cost the hosts dearly as they lost their Champions Trophy opener against Olympic champions Germany, conceding a last-minute goal.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's stellar show went in vain as Florian Fuchs scored broke the deadlock 34 seconds from the final hooter to beat India by a solitary goal in their opening Pool B match at the packed Kalinga Stadiun here.
"We had number of chances to score but it was not enough.
There is definitely scope for improvement. Two things what hurt today was the players indecision in the final pass and we couldn't read the game in certain situations. We were anticipating rather than reacting," Oltmans told reporters in the post-match press conference.
"In the final minute, we made a mistake and if you make a mistake against Germany in the final minute on you have to pay."
The legendary Dutchman, however, said he was impressed with the players performance on quite a few areas.
"I am quite pleased with what I have seen in some areas.
Sreejesh gave a good performance. I am pleased with SK Uthappa in the midfield. He was making his comeback to the national team and (Birendra) Lakra is always a solid player in our defence," Oltmans said.
Germany coach Marcus Weise said it was an evenly-matched encounter.
"The match was pretty even. We had a lucky goal in the end. I am pleased with our performance. We managed to get all the players engaged," he said
"It was a boost for the younger guys of the team. Playing against India in India is a big learning experience for them," he said.
Comments
0 comment