Die Macht » that, weve scored a couple.Flanagan accus

Good, but just not enough.These five words could describe the Indian mens hockey teams performance at the 2016 Olympic Games. They did well in the early part of the tournament -- which was not unexpected -- but then showed their first signs of weakness with an inability to finish their pool with a win over 15th-ranked Canada.A win in their last pool match would have taken them into a last-eight clash against Spain, but instead they found sixth-ranked Belgium, who had unexpectedly topped their pool, posting impressive wins over Great Britain and Australia along the way.The quarterfinalIt wasnt that the Indians played badly in the quarterfinal. They took a 1-0 lead into halftime and looked every bit the slightly higher-ranked among the two nations that they are. Akashdeep Singh gave India the lead in the last 30 seconds of the first quarter of play, which they preserved with dogged defending for the next 15.The second half saw the Belgians up the ante, as they started using the long balls and deft deflections inside the circle to good effect. Sebastien Dockier scored from two of those tip-ins, while Tom Boon showed why he has been one of the foremost attacking players in the world with a solo effort of high quality in the 49th minute.Just like that, hopes of making the semi-finals (erroneously, most media outlets and agencies have added since 1980, while the 1980 format was played in round-robin and then straight to the gold-medal game) were gone.Before the last eightSo how did they fare on the whole?They made the quarterfinals, as was expected. The only two teams they lost to in the pool stages are probably going to repeat their 2012 final on August 18, and they made Germany and the Netherlands work really hard for their 2-1 wins. It is a shame that India failed to beat Canada, because it would have meant they would have won three pool matches for the first time since 1984. That itself shows how poor they have been in recent Olympics -- barring Sydney, where they looked on course for a semi-final slot until a late equalizer by Poland in their last pool match.The Netherlands and Germany celebrated quite exuberantly when they won their scraps in the pool stages against India, much like Australia had when they were taken to the brink in the Champions Trophy by the Indians. That is a sign of the respect this Indian team commands and should take heart from in the future.Finishing troublesThere were a couple of key areas where India lost ground to their more balanced opponents. The first and most glaring area was the lack of finishing, something that had been seen as an area of concern when the team was about to be announced. Team selections are always better dissected in hindsight, but when the team scores just three field goals from 29 attempts across six matches, it shows the value that a natural goal-poacher like Mandeep Singh could have brought. Instead, what happened often was that there were terrific passes sent into the opposition circle, but the likes of Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep and Nikkin Thimmaiah were not sure about who was going to make the charge towards goal. This is one area Indians were found wanting in.India also had lapses in concentration and discipline at key moments. In the quarterfinal, VR Raghunath had to sit out for a green card in the third quarter, and that was around the time that Belgium exploited their man advantage to the hilt and put more players behind the ball in attack. Raghunath was also one of two players who were shown a yellow card and expelled from the pitch against the Netherlands for a minimum of five minutes. His suspension, for an elbow on the Dutch player, was actually for 10 minutes, and though India didnt concede any goal in that time, it showed some of the Indian players havent learnt how to curb their aggression when provoked.Wheres the self-belief? The last aspect which went missing in the last-eight fixture in particular was self-belief. India made only four substantial goal attempts, and failed to win a single penalty corner. This last number was astounding -- seven of Indias 10 goals in Rio came from PC conversions -- and it pointed as much to Indias lack of awareness and nous inside the opposition circle, as it had to do with the Belgian discipline in defence. India had found PC conversions from four sources, and were yet to employ Harmanpreet Singh for the same. Yet on Sunday, all these big guns didnt get a single chance to threaten Vincent Vanasch in goal for Belgium.On the whole, this was the kind of performance Indian hockey fans would have expected at the very least. That they could not improve upon it and now might see that fifth ranking in the world slip further shows that the raw materials are there, but they need a lot more work to be considered effective enough.Some of the older guard may not be around in four years time, when the Indian team looks to reclaim the crown they had last won in a full field of teams in Tokyo in 1964. There will be new stars who will be identified along the way, especially at the Junior World Cup in Lucknow this December.The start of that journey in Rio was good, but just not enough. Cheap Pelicans Jerseys . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Wholesale Custom Pelicans Shirts . 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After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Cronulla have hit out at the NRL bunker after Ben Barba was denied a sensational try in?their 36-4 rout of Newcastle at Southern Cross Group Stadium.The Sharks No.1 appeared to have scored on Sunday when he ran 50m off a neat Paul Gallen inside pass and around two defenders to dot down in the left-hand corner in the 30th minute.However, Barba had the four-pointer taken off him when video referee Bernard Sutton overturned the on-field decision because of apparent interference from Michael Ennis.Ennis passed to Gallen after scooting out of dummy half but continued on his run and made contact with the Knights Chris Adams.My initial reaction is I know the play and I know how quick Barba is and Im just trying to keep up with him, Ennis told AAP.Just to push in support, thats what my theory was, but unfortunately it was taken off us.I didnt grab the bloke and pull him back, at least not that I can recall.Sharks coach Shane Flanagan slammed the decision: Sometimes I get the feeling with the bunker theyre trying to find a reason not to award a try - thaat was a good try.ddddddddddddMichael Ennis cant disappear. The marker played at Michael Ennis. Michael Ennis is running at speed when he passes.Yes hes in front of the ball but he cant disappear. Ive seen 1000 tries like that, weve scored a couple.Flanagan accused the referees of not allowing the game to flow.I thought the game was spoilt by the 20 penalties, Flanagan said.It was just a stop-start game and really frustrating game for us.Social media lit up with criticism of the bunker, while commentators and some of the games greats expressed their disbelief.Thats horrible. All Mick Ennis has done is pass it and then back up, Canberra great Gary Belcher said in Fox Sports commentary.Phil Gould posted on Twitter: The rugby league world has officially gone crazy.The no-try ruling came after Valentine Holmes was denied in the second minute for a double movement, although he appeared to roll over the line with momentum. ' ' '