Captain blames defence lapse for the drubbing

LAHORE, Dec 4 (UNI) :Indian captain Dilip Tirkey today blamed total lack of coordination in the team for the 0-4 humiliating loss against Spain and singled out defence lapse as the reason for the disgraceful performance in their opening match at the 26th Men's Champions Trophy Hockey tournament here.

"At least two out of four goals should have been easily prevented.

There were too many defence lapses coupled with a total lack of coordination," Tirkey said after the match.

He said the very first goal changed the entire complexion of the game.

"We could have easily drawn the match had we not conceded the first goal which was absolutely due to a defence lapse," he observed.

When asked about Spain's performance, he said the team was ever improving and took the Indians by surprise with their change of strategy in the second half.

"We thought they will chalk out a tame draw but they changed gear in the second half and gave us no time to counter attack," he noted.

Tirkey, however, promised a better showing by his team in the matches ahead.

"We will definitely come out with a better performance and will not repeat a similar performance tomorrow," he added.