By Glenn Kirkham of East Grinstead Hockey Club
Glenn Kirkham made 223 appearances for England and Great Britain and retired from international hockey at the age of 31 in 2013. Glenn competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in Beijing and London respectively as well as Commonwealth Games, World Cups, European Nations and Champions Trophy competitions. Glenn won the European Nations in 2009 with England, defeating Germany 5:3 in the final and is considered to have been one of the most consistent performers to have graced the England and Great Britain sides.
We seemed to dominate Spain for large spells in the first half; what do you think happened ? Did they work us out or were we a little unlucky with our chances ?
On the whole I was pretty impressed with the England performance, particularly with the number of chances and circle entries against a notoriously difficult side to break down. I feel it was down to a combination of Spain stepping up their game in the second half and England not putting more of their chances away earlier on. A little hard luck in hitting the post twice but some disappointing work in front of goal as well.
Who would you call out as having particularly good games against Spain ?
I think it was obvious that Ali Brogdon had a very good game and not only took his goal very well but looked dangerous and energetic whenever he got the ball. I was also impressed with Michael Hoare at the back who looked very composed on the ball and assured in his performance despite still being relatively inexperienced at this level.
Having seen a few matches now, what are your thoughts on how the Netherlands have put on the spectacle ?
The main stadium looks incredible and a fantastic atmosphere to play in. It's been great to see the stadiums so full as well and I really think it's giving a great setting for the sport.
Looking ahead to India, what are your reflections of having played them on several occasions ?
A side with fantastic individual skill but doesn't always have that team cohesion. They can match any team in the world on their day and for them it's a case of finding some consistency. They've been very strong at home over recent years and it will be interesting to see how they perform in Europe.
Based on the India / Belgium game, was there anything that struck you as dangerous that England should worry about in the India team / play ?
I thought India played pretty well against a strong Belgium team. No real changes in style but they did look like they were playing much more as a team. They are always a threat from short corners and have a number of good drag flickers. Their talisman is Sardar Singh who is an incredibly skilful player with good vision who at times can look quite lethargic but then suddenly bursts in to life with explosive pace.
What would you like to see from England on Monday ?
I thought the performance against Spain was decent start to the tournament against a strong experienced team. That said, at times I felt we held on to the ball for too long individually and we were a little slow to transfer through the attacking third. Hopefully we'll have a little more success from penalty corners as well. The India game really is a must win game if we're to make the semi finals.
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