Defence let Chennai down

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Chennai Cheetahs’ semi-final hopes in the inaugural World Series Hockey went up in smoke after they lost to Mumbai Marines 1-4 in the final league match on Friday.

The result boosted the credibility of the league because the Marines played with spirit and determination, even though they had already been knocked out of the semifinals.

Those who thought that Mumbai wouldn’t have any motivation left were proved horribly wrong. Chennai captain Brent Livermore had said that his team wouldn’t take the Marines lightly.

“They would be playing for the pride of their jersey,” he told reporters after his team’s win over Delhi Wizards in Chennai on Wednesday.

Mumbai did show immense pride at the Mahindra Stadium to wreak Chennai’s chances. What stood out in Mumbai’s comprehensive win was their defence in set piece as well as open play. Goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza was outstanding as he thwarted PC after PC.

Chennai’s defence, on the other hand, was inadequate as they allowed three field goals. Penalty corner ace Imran Warsi’s failure — he could score only once from seven PCs —also bled the visitors. Two more PCs went down the drain when Warsi wasn’t on the field.

When Chennai coach Jose Brasa does the post-mortem his team’s defensive frailties will stick out like a sore thumb.

The Cheetahs, who finished sixth in the eight-team league, have conceded the maximum number of goals — 43, four more than the bottom-placed, Mumbai.

Brasa was never able to solve the problems at the back, even though he kept shuffling his full-backs throughout the league.

Chennai’s wretched performance at home — they garnered just seven points from seven matches at the MRK Stadium — plotted their downfall. Even their hitherto stellar form on the road deserted them in the most crucial match against Mumbai.

The Cheetahs paid the price for depending solely on Warsi for goals. The Pakistani scored 19 of his team’s 41 goals. No other team depended on one source for goals.

Mumbai had done their homework to stop Warsi and Chennai didn’t know what to do when their trump card failed.

Brasa didn’t have a back-up PC specialist to rest Warsi and try out something new. His team were embarrassing whenever they attempted variations.

Chennai also lacked thrust in the forward line. Barring Adam Sinclair, who enjoyed an outstanding campaign with nine goals, no Chennai forward delivered the goods consistently.

In addition to Warsi’s 19 goals, Chennai scored three penalty strokes and a handful of goals after direct attempts from penalty corners had gone awry.

So proper field efforts would be in the region of 15 in 14 matches. The tally is average for a team that had been talking about winning the title.

Chennai franchises in cricket (CSK) and volleyball (Spikers) are synonymous with success. But the Cheetahs haven’t been able to deliver. Maybe they need a couple of years to warm up like their counterparts in cricket.