New Delhi: Punjab Warriors captain Jamie Dwyer said they were still struggling to find right combination as they opened Hockey India League campaign with a 1-2 defeat against hosts Delhi Waveriders here on Monday. "The team combination is not there and we expect to get it better in the games to come. We have quality players in our squad and try to do well in the next games," Dwyer said at the post match press conference.
The Australian said they were outplayed in the first half and also blamed poor penalty corner conversion for the defeat. "We were outplayed in the first half. We tried to make a comeback in the second half but could not get a draw or win. Hopefully, we can perform well in our next game.
"Our penalty corner conversion was also poor as we missed three chances. We played well in patches but still a lot needs to be done. Our first priority is to get the right team combination," he said. Punjab team did not field Pakistan's Kashif Shah in the lung opener and Dwyer said, "He joined the squad late and was short of match practice. He will play the next match depending upon the team combination."
Delhi Waveriders coach A K Bansal said the team needs to improve a lot despite opening their account with a win. "It's just a start for us. We need to improve in many areas. We committed few mistakes and our goalkeeper saved many chances."
Asked about the two Pakistani players, Mohammad Rizwan Sr and Jr, who also did not play in on Monday's game, Bansal said, "Both players reached this morning at around 8, so we did not play them. It was nothing to do with protest." Bansal said they treated this game as a practice match. "You can treat it as a practice match. We will have to look at the combination," he signed off.
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