Hockey World Cup 2018: China vs Ireland - 3 Talking points

#2 Clean and disciplined work in the D

The Chinese were tidy at the back and conceded just two PCs

The Irish did manage to penetrate the Chinese midfield quite often which did not seem to be as compact as it was against England.

Twenty-four circle entries for the Green Machine was proof enough that Sothern, Magee, and Nelson had the skill to get past China's outer wall but failed to outdo the deep defence which was resolute, tidy, and disciplined.

In spite of the fact that the circle was crowded quite often with the Chinese falling back in numbers and the Irish committing men forward, the men at the back timed their tackles to perfection, kept their sticks grounded, and kept their feet out of the way even amidst the chaos of the goalmouth scrambles.

The Chinese conceded just 2 penalty corners in spite of resisting a wave of Irish attacks, by being disciplined in defence. In stark contrast, the Chinese managed to earn 3 penalty corners in spite of managing just 4 circle entries!

The fact that Alexander Cox's troops managed to fire only eight shots on target was partly due to some effective policing in the circle apart from the fact the Irish were wasteful at times and could have done with better understanding amongst themselves.