Chief coach Michael Nobbs said the Indian forwards could have displayed better finishing skills against Canada on Wednesday. The coach said India was better in terms of circle penetration and could have ended up with a bigger win. “There is nothing wrong with the forwards, but we were let down because of the (poor) finishing. However, the team played quite well,” said Nobbs after the match.
“We will keep on bringing variations (in future matches).” On S.V. Sunil, who hurried on to several shots, Nobbs said the wily striker could have scored had he played a little slower.
Nobbs said the team expected the match against Canada to be tough and did not read too much into the four cards issued (to players of both sides) in the contest. Star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, who scored a brace in the match, wanted to get better with every outing. “I am not happy with my performance because I am missing a few goals. However, we are scoring timely goals,” he said.
Sandeep said he did not feel any pressure before scoring the winning goal for India. “I am used to it. Rather it is a good feeling as people cheer you before shooting a goal.”
Below-par performance
Indian women's team coach C.R. Kumar admitted the side gave a below-par performance against South Africa. “We played poorly today and committed a lot of unforced errors. We are in a must-win situation against Italy in our next match.”
“Today the substitutions didn't work. Whenever we made a substitution, we conceded a goal,” he said.
