FIH Hockey Pro League: Craig Fulton’s vision of control over chaos is a work in progress as India edge out Ireland

Ned was just a nickname until it became a motivation mantra of sorts that could well be plastered on the walls inside the dressing room. Ned – Never Ending Dream.

The acronym was born when ‘Ned’ started his own company more than a decade ago. When he moved to hockey coaching and took charge of Ireland, it became a rallying cry for the underdogs’ quest to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since 1948. In 2018, it became Belgium’s motto as they lifted their first World Cup. Ned’s dream now continues with India, the team he now coaches.

Ned is Craig Fulton. The South African who, with his emphasis on defensive structures, transformed Ireland and turned Belgium into an unstoppable force. “He made us very tough to beat. We were defensively very good in that period,” says Michael Robson, Ireland veteran.

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝟏-𝟎 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

Gurjant Singh scores in the final minute of the game to get India their second outright win in season 5 of the #FIHProLeague. Ireland showed incredible defensive resilience, but the wait for their first ever points in the Pro… pic.twitter.com/XmpNyNKXu1

— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) February 16, 2024

The latest chapter of Fulton’s Never Ending Dream is to make India eliminate chaos and embrace control.

‘Control’ is not commonly associated with Indian hockey, on the field and off it. But it remains at the core of what Fulton, a former international coach of the year, wants India to do: be strong defensively, without actually being too defensive. It goes against everything ingrained in the mind of an Indian player, for whom it is second nature to charge forward instantly after winning the ball.

But as Fulton’s past – Ireland – collided with his present on Friday at the Kalinga Stadium in the FIH Pro League, he must have been pleased with what he saw.

Ireland, in the same group with India at the Paris Olympics, showed they still remain a team very much in the Fulton mould, tough to break down. They played man-to-man, never left any gap and although reactive, defended with authority. “Mourinho’s Chelsea,” is how Fulton described them. “No disrespect, even we do that sometimes.”

India shifted flanks, the players rotated positions and tried a multitude of things, showing patience that doesn’t come so naturally to them before Gurjant Singh scored the winner with just 61 seconds remaining in the match.

Ireland, in the same group with India at the Paris Olympics, showed they still remain a team very much in the Fulton mould, tough to break down. (X/Hockey India)

Then again, executing Fulton’s vision hasn’t been a problem for India when they have played teams ranked around or lower than them. At the Asian Champions Trophy and Asian Games last year, they looked to have fully bought into his philosophy. India asserted complete control, showed the ability to switch tactics mid-game and never tried to force the issue.

The script muddles a little when they play the world’s top two or three. As was the case against Australia on Thursday. At half-time, Fulton demanded control from his team. What he got was everything but that as Australia erased a two-goal deficit and scored six past India to win 6-4.

“We can’t concede six goals. Six goals are way too many in a game like that,” the coach said.

Fulton was talking about winning a match but if India harbour the ambition of winning an Olympic gold, they’ll have to listen to their coach even more carefully. Since the Sydney Olympics in 2000, only once (Argentina, in 2016) has a team won the gold medal after conceding more than two goals in a game throughout the campaign.

Fulton was honest in his assessment for the simple reason that the tactical tweaks – subtle, yet profound in impact – are designed to ensure such scorelines are erased. In the last 8 months or so, India have adopted a mid-block instead of the high-press, which was much more aligned with the country’s ethos.

The tactical tweak, Fulton hopes, will give India a chance to exploit the full range of their counter-attacking prowess while also shoring up the defence as, during transitions, the players start at the half-line to reduce the risk of being caught out in a counterattack.

Fulton is still trying to fit the jigsaw pieces perfectly by identifying the right players for different positions and making new combinations – like Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh in defence against the top teams.

The likes of Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands play with the confidence that at some point, India will make at least one mistake which will give them a chance to land a killer blow.

It happened during the European leg of the Pro League last year, where India executed the tactic to the T and starved Belgium for space for most periods before conceding a late goal. And it happened again on Thursday against Australia.

Colin Batch, the Australian coach, said after the match the foundation for the comeback was laid by two things. “We had to possess the ball and shift the play,” he said. In other words, control the match.

It’s what Ned wants India to do. For a team that thrives in chaos, though, this could be a never ending dream.

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