'We had a game plan, we stuck to it'
Indian men's hockey team head coach Craig Fulton said that the team's victory over Pakistan came down to them sticking to the plans and executing them on the field.
India secured a thumping 4-0 victory over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy on Wednesday.
Performing in front of a roaring home audience at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team put on a brilliant display, dominating their opponents from the get go.
After the match, Fulton lauded the Indian team and took a dig at the Pakistan head coach Muhammad Saqlain's remarks for India not playing "structured hockey".
"We had a game plan and we stuck to it. The idea was to score goals early and that happened. We played structured hockey and it worked. We defended well and scored when it mattered the most. It is just about consistency. Nice challenge, we are looking forward to it. Some of our guys really stood out tonight," Craig Fulton said in the post-match conference.
Fulton went on to reveal that Jugraj's flick was something that he told him to do during the practice sessions.
"We executed our plans. There is always a feeling that we can score plenty of goals. It is quite nice. When Jugraj Singh flicked in practice I told him that is how I want you to flick when you play the match.
"Mandeep is bringing his experience into play. He is a seasoned player," Fulton added.
Pakistan were disallowed a goal after video referral early in the first quarter on the ground that the ball had hit a player's body before he scored. Pakistan coach Muhammad Saqlain later complained that India's first penalty corner from which the hosts took 1-0 lead off captain Harmanpreet Singh's drag-flick was wrongly awarded.
"We conceded through India's first penalty corner, but it came off the hand. The second umpire did inform that it wasn't a PC, but the other umpire did not hear it," Saqlain said.
"We lost the referral in the process. Such mistakes cannot happen at this level, especially when we are playing against the top sides in the world. So, the standard of umpiring needs improvement, which has been inconsistent in the event throughout," he added.
Asked about the umpiring decisions in the match, Fulton played with a straight bat.
"That's what video referrals are for. It (Pakistan's disallowed goal) was scored off the body. But there are some goals that umpires can't disallow.
"At the end of the day, they (Pakistan) played well. They had chances, but we defended well and got the goals counted at the right time."
The Indian men's hockey team are now on top of the table in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023.
