Graham Reid: It is difficult to judge games against Russia

Graham Reid felt that India gave away too much space to the Russians in the opening half of the first FIH Series Finals match on Thursday.

Graham Reid was far from happy with India's performance against Russia despite the 10-0 win on Thursday.

The Indian team had an easy outing in its opening game of the FIH Series Finals against Russia on Thursday but coach Graham Reid admitted he wasn’t too happy with the way the team began its campaign. India was rusty to begin with and could only manage a single goal in the first 15 minutes despite creating numerous chances.

“We could have scored more in that first quarter and we did give away a few loose spaces to them at that time. It was something I spoke about at quarter time but it is also very difficult to judge a game against a team like Russia. You don’t play against them too often at the international level and so you prepare well for them and do your best. But it isn’t easy to plan,” Reid said after the 10-0 victory.

Captain Manpreet Singh, playing his 250th game, agreed that the team would look to shore up its finishing in the upcoming games.

“We know Poland is a very defensive team and we did start off with a few missed chances but improved as the game progressed. We would be looking to keep improving in the upcoming games,” he said.

India will face world no 21 Poland on Friday at the Kallinga Stadium as it looks to put on foot in the semifinal by topping Pool A. The match begins at 7 pm (IST).