Defensive lapses, poor finishing let us down

We practically played into Holland's hands and gave away 3 points on a platter, writes Dhanraj Pillay.

Sunday was Independence Day and all of us badly wanted to win our Olympic opener as a gift to our country. The reality, however, is that a combination of defensive lapses and poor finishing by the forwards forced us to go down to holders Holland 1-3. We have to now pick up the pieces and raise our game to the desired level to try and bag three life-saving points against South Africa.

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Let me make one thing clear to readers. There wasn’t much difference between the two teams as far as strategy and skills were concerned. But it was sad and unfortunate that we conceded 'soft goals'. That could easily have been avoided. Being down by a goal by the second minute just shows how unsettled we were at the start. Perhaps some of our youngsters, who played their first Olympic tie on Sunday, were a bit overawed by the situation. Under such circumstances, mistakes were bound to happen.

But then why blame the young boys only? Even seniors like us were unable to convert chances. We did create chances and showed some individual brilliance, but teamwork and finishing left a lot to be desired. I will not accept that Holland were far superior but I must give them credit for converting the half chances into goals.

That's what matter most in big events. It all boils down to who commits the least mistakes and converts the most chances. We failed miserably in both departments.

Looking back at the game, I cannot help saying that mistakes we committed were simply unforgivable. We practically played into their hands and gave away three points on a platter. Such acts not only break the rhythm and momentum of the team but also turn fighting spirit into frustration, despair and anger. Let us hope that we learn from these mistakes.

I must point out some positive points from Sunday's tie. Adrian, who played his first Olympic match, had a great game under the bars and played like a seasoned goalkeeper. Our midfielders controlled the game better in the second half and enthusiastically assisted forwards.

Although we played patchily in the first half and were unable to get going, we were more disciplined in the second session.

We were able to play through the flanks and attack through the centre. All our efforts came to a nought as time and again we failed to convert the chances.

But all is not lost yet and we have four more games to play. If the players can put this defeat behind and concentrate on winning the other games, then we would still be left with a fighting chance of making the semi-finals. I am sure that there will be many more upsets in this pool as a wounded Argentina will try their best to come back into contention.

Personally, I am not one who throws in the towel too easily. We will fight it out till the last match and never take it lying down. I am taking this defeat as a blessing in disguise for better things to come.

With this prayer and hope, I appeal to you all to stay with us and support 'Your Team' in the rest of the outings. (Chivach Sports)