(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Having been a feared striker himself in his playing days, Pakistan team manager Hasan Sardar, has a natural love for attacking hockey. And when he found his own boys adopting a defensive strategy after an early goal against India during the Asian Champions Trophy preliminary league match on Saturday, he was certainly left unimpressed.
India extended its recent domination over its arch-rival with a rather convincing 3-1 win at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) in Muscat, a result, the Pakistan great attributed to his players falling back too much against the Indians.
The Pakistan great, who recently took over the team following the sudden departure of Dutchman Roelant Oltmans last month, said, 'It was a mistake to fall back too much in our own half, that allowed free space to the Indians.
'Any team that is allowed to attack to that extent will get chances. In fact, we made it easy for India by withdrawing too much.'
In his remarks to Muscat Daily ahead of the blockbuster match, Sardar said, 'India-Pakistan matches are always closely fought. There is not much of a difference and it will be an exciting game.'
The match definitely got off to a thrilling start as Pakistan surged ahead in the first minute of the match with a penalty corner conversion through Mohammed Irfan Jr.
However, India fought back to not only equalise but also score two more goals for a dominant victory. India captain Manpreet Singh got the equaliser with a superb individual effort in the second quarter while Mandeep Singh and Dilpreet Singh found the net in the third quarter for India.
Sardar said, 'It was only in the second half that we came out and attacked. We were good in phases and disorganised in some other aspects. From the chances we created, we should have scored two goals.'
Ranked as one of the best ten players of all time, Sardar said, 'We can play a lot better. We look forward to a more organised game in our next outing.'
Pakistan faces a comparatively easy outing against the hosts on Monday. The match kicks off at 9.10pm.
Oman lost both its games so far, suffering a 0-11 loss at the hands of India on Thursday before coming up with a vastly-improved show against Asian Games silver medallist Malaysia in its 1-3 loss on Friday.
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