Hockey Pro League 2022-23: "It’s important we play all four quarters with that same intensity"- men’s hockey head coach Graham Reid

Indian men’s hockey head coach Graham Reid will have to do some more homework to keep a consistent tempo in the Hockey Pro League matches.

In the opener against New Zealand on Friday at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium, the hosts came from behind to score a thrilling 4-3 win to collect the full points. Reid admitted India needed to keep the tempo up in all four quarters.

“It’s never easy to bounce back from a situation that we were in against New Zealand on Friday. But it’s important we play all four quarters with that same intensity,” Reid said in the post-match interaction.

Reid thinks India could face stiff competition from the Spanish side on Sunday.

“Spain is a strong side and has the ability to bounce back from any situation. It’s important for us to keep the tempo up and not drop the momentum at any point in the match,” India’s head coach said.

In Friday’s opening match of the Hockey Pro League, India rallied from a 1-3 in the third quarter to post a 4-3 win. It was then Mandeep Singh’s day as he netted two goals in the fourth quarter to help India win the first match of the Hockey Pro League season. Harmanpreet (42') and Mandeep Singh (52' and 57') played a crucial role in India’s win.

Earlier, Mandeep Mor scored India’s first goal in the 14th minute, while New Zealand struck thrice through Sam Lane (23' and 36') and Jake Smith (36') to move the scoreboard in their favor 3-1.

“We made some mistakes, and we will work on those before our next match against Spain. Spain is a really good team and we will look to continue our winning performances this Hockey Pro League season,” said Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh said in a post-match win.