With Australia and Great Britain now qualified from this group, it's time to look back on how the group matches went. You can find the Group B round-up here.
Group A
At first glance, this was never going to be a group where Australia would have expected to fail. For Great Britain, however, it was less clear. They haven't made an Olympic final since 1988 and there was massive pressure from the crowd and the hockey community to fix this at their home Olympics. Great Britains know Spain are never an easy team to beat and Pakistan came here as an unknown quantity. In the end, the two top ranked teams have gone through to the next stage so how did everyone do.
Australia opened their campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of South Africa. This game wasn't as completely one-sided as the score suggests but Australia were at their imperious best and looking to send a message to everyone in the group. In case that message went unheaded, it was followed by a 5-0 win over Spain. This one was not quite as fluid as the game against South Africe but it was clinical and controlled.
Then it all stalled. Argentina came out, determined not to be overawed and got a 2-2 draw. Australia looked a little flat during this game and seemed unprepared for the way Argentina fought for each ball. It got even worse in the match against Great Britiain. Australia were 3-0 up and looking like they were going to cruise into the semi-finals. What they didn't count on was Great Britain fighting back and being prepared to throw everything they had at Australia in order to get a 3-3 draw. At the end of that game, it could have easily been 4-3 to either side.
In the final game of the group, knowing that a win or a draw would be good enough for the semi-finals, Australia came up against Pakistan. This was not a make-weight match as a loss to Pakistan would have put them through to the semi-finals. Australia were in no mood to take chances. They ripped into a Pakistan side that looked like they were content to sit back and try and win on the break. Sadly, as the game progressed, Pakistan ceased competing and Australia strolled to a 7-0 win and a place in the semi-finals against Germany.
Unlike Australia, Great Britain made hard work of their qualification for the the semi-finals. A 4-1 win over Argentina was a great start but a stuttering 2-2 draw with South Africa left Great Britain with a lot of work to do.
In their next match against the misfiring Pakistan, Great Britain got their campaign back on track with a 4-1 win. The key to this victory was the speed of the Great Britain breaks and the continued pressure they placed on Pakistan who wilted as the game went on.
The draw against South Africa put a lot of pressure on Great Britain ahead of the game against Australia. The game started slowly for Great Britain and Australia were 3-0 ahead midway through the second half. But Jason Lee has built this side to be resilient and it was clear that they were determined not to go out with a wimper. Instead of accepting defeat, they tore into Australia and pulled the match back to 3-3 and in the last minutes, either side could have taken it 4-3.
With Pakistan hot on their heels, Great Britain knew the last match, against Spain, would be tough. It was not only tough but very nervy, although much of the pressure on Great Britain was self inflicted. Earlier in the day Great Britain had seen Pakistan beaten by Australia and knew that a win or draw here would be enough to send them through to face Netherlands. In the end, it was a 1-1 draw and that was enough, much to the relief of the Great Britain supporters and their coaching staff.
Only in the last round of matches did Spain get themselves into third position in this group but will be rueing their failure to beat Great Britain and the points they dropped elsewhere. It started badly for them with the broken arm to Santiago Freixa, although he seemed to shrug it off and carry on playing. That first match against Pakistan was tough for both sides but neither side took their chances to win it.
Against Australia, Spain was outclassed and never looked like getting anything. Although Spain won their next match 3-2 against South Africa, they really didn't look the fluid passing team we've seen over the last decade and in some respects, were lucky not to drop points. The match against Argentina was also difficult even though it was a 3-1 win and at this point Spain were still in with a chance to go to the semi-finals.
Sadly, they were unable to overcome a very nervy Great Britain and make it to the semi-finals. They did leap frog Pakistan in the table but only due to the rout handed to Pakistan by Australia.
Pakistan came here with high hopes and left under a cloud. An opening game against Spain resulted in a 1-1 draw and a good opportunity for the team to get to the speed of the pitch and competition. In beating Argentina 2-0 in the next match, Pakistan were beginning to look the real deal and a serious threat to Great Britain and Australia.
Against Great Britain, however, Pakistan were exposed by fast breaks and contined pressure in the 23m area. Great Britain pressured Pakistan and ran out comfortable winners 4-1. At this point, Pakistan could have been forgiven for settling for third in the group but they didn't. They bounced back with an unconvincing 5-4 win over South Africa which kept them in contention for a semi-final berth after Great Britain fought to a 3-3 draw with Australia.
The final group match game Pakistan hope that they could pull off a shock but that was until the game actually started. They shipped two early goals, but despite making some forays into the Australian end of the pitch, they just couldn't get their shots away. By the end of the first half, Australia were 4-0 ahead and in the second half, as the lead was extended to 5-0, Pakistan stopped competing. By the end of the match, it was a very sorry looking Pakistan who found themselves on the end of a 7-0 rout by a very dominant Australia.
Nobody really expected much of Argentina and South Africa, bar the chance of the odd upset against the more established sides. Sadly for Argentina it started badly with a 4-1 loss to Great Britain followed by a 2-0 loss to Pakistan. They then almost pulled off the shock all the Great Britain supporters were hoping for against Australia but eventually had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Against Spain they played well but the Spanish class told out and they lost 3-1. All they had left was pride to play for against South Africa and in a match that went from end to end, it all came down to who could actually score. Argentina won this 6-3 although it was only due to some strange goalkeeping by South Africa that made it look easy at the end.
South Africa has come a long way in the last decade. Look around London and other large European cities and you will see players from South Africa in many of the large clubs. In this tournament, however, they were sadly outclassed. The highlight of their competition was a 2-2 draw with Great Britain as they looked to inflict a shock defeat but they just couldn't find a way through for the win.
Semi-finals and beyond
With Australia and Great Britain now heading off to face Germany and Netherlands respectively we have the top four ranked teams in the world in the Olympic finals. In any sport, it is generally rare for the ranking system to work so well and there were scares for Great Britain and Germany as the tournament progressed.
Great Britain look to have a very tough task in taking on Netherlands but if there is one thing that Jason Lee has instilled in his team, it's belief. While it may have been lacking in a nervy last group game against Spain, this is winner takes all hockey with a home crowd. The expectation will be palpable around the stadium and Great Britain need to draw on that energy in the same way other gold medalists, such as Jessica Ennis, have already done.
Australia have no easy task in facing Germany although Germany have misfired so far this tournament. Both sides know what it is like to get to semi-finals in the major competitions and to lift trophies. This is a match that will go all the way to the final whistle. If Australia show the weakness they showed against Great Britain, throwing away a three goal lead, Germany will make them pay dearly.
Whoever wins the semi-finals, we can count on the final four games to deliver fast, skillful and exciting hockey as befits this Olympic tournament.
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Pakistan Hockey lacks ambition
There was a time when Pakistan, along with India, dominated the game of men's hockey. The close dribbling skills of these two nations and their ability to conjure a goal from nowhere, put them in a class of their own. Sadly that is no longer the case and the failure of both nations at the London Olympics 2012 will not help them regain their positions at the top of the hockey world.
I've already spoken about India in a separate post so let's concentrate on Pakistan.
The last 10 years have been hard for all sports in Pakistan. The war in Afghanistan, attacks on visiting national sports teams and a general lack of facilities has meant that Pakistan has been sliding down the world rankings in almost every sport you can name.
Hockey and cricket have had a particularly hard time of it. While Pakistan's cricketers have endured match fixing and fraud claims, some proven in court, many more unproven, hockey has kept its name clean. This is important for Pakistan hockey players as there are less chances for them to earn a living playing abroad than their cricketing counterparts.
While Pakistan's cricketers have been able to play international test cricket despite their problems, the hockey players have faced a dearth of quality international matches. Without those matches, it is hard to go to big competitions and win medals.
In the big hockey competitions, Pakistan has struggled. The last Summer Olympics medal was bronze in 1992 in Barcelona. Their last Champions Trophy medal was also a Bronze won in Lahore in 2004 at what was the last major hockey tournament they hosted. In the Hockey World Cup, Pakistan's last success was gold in the 1994, Sydney competition.
Although Pakistan has appeared in these major competitions on more recent occassions, they have failed to make any real impact on the other countries.
In regional competitions, Pakistan has had more recent success with Gold in the 2010 Asian Games in China, Silver in the 2009 Hockey Asia Cup held in Malaysia, silver in the 2011 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup also held in Malaysia and silver in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
It was Pakistan's performances in the Asian Games in 2010 and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2011 that perhaps fooled some of us into believing that Pakistan could offer a significant challenge at this Olympic Games.
I had the opportunity to watch Pakistan train at Cannock Hockey Club prior to the Olympic competition starting. They worked very hard with a lot of time spent on game play and tactical moves such as offensive and defensive penalty corners. In fact, this was the first time I'd seen any international side using a Bola machine to fire balls at the goalkeepers and I was impressed at the speed and agility of the goalkeepers, especially Imran Shah.
Pakistan also did something I've not seen from other sides, work the two post defenders in simulated penalty corner mode. This was done by using the Bola machine to fire balls at them so they could practice taking high balls with their sticks. It made me wonder why other teams do not do this.
But performance in practice sessions and performance in game situations are rarely comparable. While sometimes a training ground move works perfectly, what is more important, is the ability of the players to improvise and how they respond under pressure. It is in this area that Pakistan have been found desperately wanting.
An opening game against Spain resulted in a 1-1 draw and a good opportunity for the team to get to the speed of the pitch and competition. In beating Argentina 2-0 in the next match, Pakistan were beginning to look the real deal and a serious threat to Great Britain and Australia.
Against Great Britain, however, Pakistan were exposed by fast breaks and contined pressure in the 23m area. Great Britain pressured Pakistan and ran out comfortable winners 4-1. At this point, Pakistan could have been forgiven for settling for third in the group but they didn't. They bounced back with an unconvincing 5-4 win over South Africa which kept them in contention for a semi-final berth after Great Britain fought to a 3-3 draw with Australia.
It all came down to the last match. Only a win was going to be good enough for Pakistan and while it was never going to be easy, they were up against an Australian side that had lost a 3-0 lead against Great Britain. How much did Pakistan want it?
The answer was not much. They shipped two early goals but were making some forays into the Australian end of the pitch. Shots were hard to get off but they did test the Australian GK, but to no avail. By the end of the first half, Australia were 4-0 ahead and in the second half, as the lead was extended to 5-0, Pakistan stopped competing. By the end of the match, it was a very sorry looking Pakistan who found themselves on the end of a 7-0 rout by a very dominant Australia.
Could Pakistan have won? Yes. They have demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of scoring and defending. Unfortunately for them, Australia was looking to bounce back from the draw against Great Britain and to send a message to their semi-final opponents, Germany.
Pakistan's biggest mistake was in sitting back and inviting Australia to come and attack. This was what happened against Great Britain and they lost that game. As the game wore on, defenders stopped communicating and Australian players all too often found themselves unmarked with a shot on goal.
Despite a quick flurry at the start of the second half, Pakistan looked like a side that had given up. Heads were down, basic skills and passing were poor, tackles were missed with monotonous regularity and they'd even stopped playing for pride. Given the option of a white flag, it looked as if Pakistan would use it.
This is not the Pakistan I watched when I first started playing hockey and somewhere, there is a need for the team management to install some belief and pride in these players. Without it, they will continue to slide down the rankings and the wait for a major medal will continue until it becomes impossible to attract new talent into the team.
Attracting that talent is a major problem, particularly at home in Pakistan. What the Pakistan Hockey Federation should be doing is looking at communities outside of Pakistan where youngsters are playing hockey in local clubs and build support for them. Yes, it will take a lot of work and money. It will also take a lot of committment from the national team management but without it, the pool of potential players and talent will dwindle to nothing.
There is another reason why Pakistan needs to take this route and get ex pats to commit to the national team. Many in these communities see a better chance of success in playing for their adopted countries. This should come as no surprise. When you look at a country where you can win a medal and whose playing philosophies you understand compared to a country on the slide and with no realistic chance of delivering trophies, you would be hard pressed to reject the higher chance of success.
There are two years until the Commonwealth games in Glasgow, Scotland. If Pakistan want to prove they are on the way back and have the ambition and drive to win major trophies, they need to get their players into Europe, playing for European clubs at the highest possible level. The ball is firmly in the hands of those at the top of Pakistan hockey.
I've already spoken about India in a separate post so let's concentrate on Pakistan.
The last 10 years have been hard for all sports in Pakistan. The war in Afghanistan, attacks on visiting national sports teams and a general lack of facilities has meant that Pakistan has been sliding down the world rankings in almost every sport you can name.
Hockey and cricket have had a particularly hard time of it. While Pakistan's cricketers have endured match fixing and fraud claims, some proven in court, many more unproven, hockey has kept its name clean. This is important for Pakistan hockey players as there are less chances for them to earn a living playing abroad than their cricketing counterparts.
While Pakistan's cricketers have been able to play international test cricket despite their problems, the hockey players have faced a dearth of quality international matches. Without those matches, it is hard to go to big competitions and win medals.
In the big hockey competitions, Pakistan has struggled. The last Summer Olympics medal was bronze in 1992 in Barcelona. Their last Champions Trophy medal was also a Bronze won in Lahore in 2004 at what was the last major hockey tournament they hosted. In the Hockey World Cup, Pakistan's last success was gold in the 1994, Sydney competition.
Although Pakistan has appeared in these major competitions on more recent occassions, they have failed to make any real impact on the other countries.
In regional competitions, Pakistan has had more recent success with Gold in the 2010 Asian Games in China, Silver in the 2009 Hockey Asia Cup held in Malaysia, silver in the 2011 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup also held in Malaysia and silver in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
It was Pakistan's performances in the Asian Games in 2010 and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2011 that perhaps fooled some of us into believing that Pakistan could offer a significant challenge at this Olympic Games.
I had the opportunity to watch Pakistan train at Cannock Hockey Club prior to the Olympic competition starting. They worked very hard with a lot of time spent on game play and tactical moves such as offensive and defensive penalty corners. In fact, this was the first time I'd seen any international side using a Bola machine to fire balls at the goalkeepers and I was impressed at the speed and agility of the goalkeepers, especially Imran Shah.
Pakistan also did something I've not seen from other sides, work the two post defenders in simulated penalty corner mode. This was done by using the Bola machine to fire balls at them so they could practice taking high balls with their sticks. It made me wonder why other teams do not do this.
But performance in practice sessions and performance in game situations are rarely comparable. While sometimes a training ground move works perfectly, what is more important, is the ability of the players to improvise and how they respond under pressure. It is in this area that Pakistan have been found desperately wanting.
An opening game against Spain resulted in a 1-1 draw and a good opportunity for the team to get to the speed of the pitch and competition. In beating Argentina 2-0 in the next match, Pakistan were beginning to look the real deal and a serious threat to Great Britain and Australia.
Against Great Britain, however, Pakistan were exposed by fast breaks and contined pressure in the 23m area. Great Britain pressured Pakistan and ran out comfortable winners 4-1. At this point, Pakistan could have been forgiven for settling for third in the group but they didn't. They bounced back with an unconvincing 5-4 win over South Africa which kept them in contention for a semi-final berth after Great Britain fought to a 3-3 draw with Australia.
It all came down to the last match. Only a win was going to be good enough for Pakistan and while it was never going to be easy, they were up against an Australian side that had lost a 3-0 lead against Great Britain. How much did Pakistan want it?
The answer was not much. They shipped two early goals but were making some forays into the Australian end of the pitch. Shots were hard to get off but they did test the Australian GK, but to no avail. By the end of the first half, Australia were 4-0 ahead and in the second half, as the lead was extended to 5-0, Pakistan stopped competing. By the end of the match, it was a very sorry looking Pakistan who found themselves on the end of a 7-0 rout by a very dominant Australia.
Could Pakistan have won? Yes. They have demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of scoring and defending. Unfortunately for them, Australia was looking to bounce back from the draw against Great Britain and to send a message to their semi-final opponents, Germany.
Pakistan's biggest mistake was in sitting back and inviting Australia to come and attack. This was what happened against Great Britain and they lost that game. As the game wore on, defenders stopped communicating and Australian players all too often found themselves unmarked with a shot on goal.
Despite a quick flurry at the start of the second half, Pakistan looked like a side that had given up. Heads were down, basic skills and passing were poor, tackles were missed with monotonous regularity and they'd even stopped playing for pride. Given the option of a white flag, it looked as if Pakistan would use it.
This is not the Pakistan I watched when I first started playing hockey and somewhere, there is a need for the team management to install some belief and pride in these players. Without it, they will continue to slide down the rankings and the wait for a major medal will continue until it becomes impossible to attract new talent into the team.
Attracting that talent is a major problem, particularly at home in Pakistan. What the Pakistan Hockey Federation should be doing is looking at communities outside of Pakistan where youngsters are playing hockey in local clubs and build support for them. Yes, it will take a lot of work and money. It will also take a lot of committment from the national team management but without it, the pool of potential players and talent will dwindle to nothing.
There is another reason why Pakistan needs to take this route and get ex pats to commit to the national team. Many in these communities see a better chance of success in playing for their adopted countries. This should come as no surprise. When you look at a country where you can win a medal and whose playing philosophies you understand compared to a country on the slide and with no realistic chance of delivering trophies, you would be hard pressed to reject the higher chance of success.
There are two years until the Commonwealth games in Glasgow, Scotland. If Pakistan want to prove they are on the way back and have the ambition and drive to win major trophies, they need to get their players into Europe, playing for European clubs at the highest possible level. The ball is firmly in the hands of those at the top of Pakistan hockey.
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