MADRID, 11 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The national field hockey coach, Adrian Lock, confessed that the victory (1-0) over India this Sunday was “total suffering” to achieve the pass to the quarterfinals of the World Cup that is being played at the Terrassa Olympic Stadium, where on Wednesday they will meet a powerful Australia.
“It has been even, total suffering. It has been good, sometimes everything goes well and other times you encounter obstacles. We have shown that we have to keep fighting, adapt and defend well. Every day I am emphasizing the importance of defending well,” he said at a conference. press.
The ‘Red Sticks’ made it 1-0 thanks to Marta Segu in the 56th minute but, in the midst of suffering, and Lock insisted on the importance of defending well. “India is a very good team, they have shown it in recent years. It is a team that is growing and has caused us many problems, especially in the first half. But the defensive aspect has been fundamental. The second half we have created more, we have played more with the ball”, affirmed.
“We have had the experience of managing the last minutes, although we were left with 10 and then 9. The push of the public is fundamental,” added Lock, calling on the fans for the match against Australia.
The coach referred to the crossing on Wednesday and recalled the confrontation at the Olympic Games last year, a match where he could not be present due to the coronavirus. “The biggest difference I hope is that I will be in the game and not locked in a hotel I don’t know where in Tokyo. What I expect from Australia is something similar, they look for their physical power to play a vertical game,” he said.
“We have changed more ourselves, I liked the Games game a lot. We are learning to play more and more complete games, it is a world power,” he concluded.