Coach Fulton hails India's 'structured' game in 4-0 thrashing of rivals Pakistan

A proud head coach Craig Fulton hailed Indias structured and consistent game in the 40 thrashing of archrivals Pakistan in their Asian Champions Trophy hockey match adding that he looks for his players to continue in the same vein in the semifinal against JapanIndias comprehensive 40 win in their last roundrobin league match on Wednesday knocked Pakistan out of the tournament Unbeaten India topped the league table with four wins and a draw and play Japan in the semifinals on FridayWe did play a goodstructured game We did miss a few chances in the fourth quarter but we did well overall Fulton said during the postmatch press conferenceJapan sneaked into the semifinals ahead of Pakistan on better goal difference though the two sides collected five points each Japan had minus two goal difference as against minus five of PakistanIn fact thirdplaced Korea also secured five points but they have a goal difference of minus oneWe also had more penetration into the circle in each quarter than Japan So it will be about maintaining consistency and not doing it just one way Fulton said about the semifinal against JapanAlso Read Is this the most inexperienced Asian Champions Trophy everPakistan were disallowed a goal after video referral early in the first quarter on the ground that the ball had hit a players body before he scored Pakistan coach Muhammad Saqlain later complained that Indias first penalty corner from which the hosts took 10 lead off captain Harmanpreet Singhs dragflick was wrongly awardedWe conceded through Indias first penalty corner but it came off the hand The second umpire did inform that it wasnt a PC but the other umpire did not hear it Saqlain saidWe lost the referral in the process Such mistakes cannot happen at this level especially when we are playing against the top sides in the world So the standard of umpiring needs improvement which has been inconsistent in the event throughout he addedAsked about the umpiring decisions in the match Fulton played with a straight batThats what video referrals are for It Pakistans disallowed goal was scored off the body But there are some goals that umpires cant disallowAt the end of the day they Pakistan played well They had chances but we defended well and got the goals counted at the right timeJugraj Singh scored Indias third goal in the third quarter off a penalty cornerAsked about the decisionmaking process regarding Jugraj being asked to take the penalty croner Fulton said it was planned and it all happened behind the scenesWe do a lot of study on it I cant tell you everything but eventually he Jugraj has to execute it So he deserves all the credit for itDuring the warmup I saw Jugraj flick one good and I told him When I call you to flick thats how you do it Ultimately it worked But sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt Im glad it worked todayCaptain Harmanpreet Singh struck twice from penalty corners to play a major role in the winAs far as my dragflick is concerned even if I miss out on one or two shots I know I will get more opportunities and my focus is on trying to get those convertedOn Tuesday Saqlain had said that India were not playing structured hockeyAsked about Saqlains prematch comments Harmanpreet simply said that India would be looking to better the structure if that indeed was the caseIf we are winning without playing in a structure then we will try to better our structure He has given us a good lesson he saidRegarding decisionmaking process of the Indian team Harmanpreet said We discussed things during every team meeting Our graph has been going up We are being told which area we are improving and how to stay mentally strong and build trustWith agency inputs