Delhi Waveriders will look to carry on their good form in fourth edition of Hockey India league when they take on Uttar Pradesh Wizards on Monday.
The Waveriders, who are now second in the table with 16 points, won three of the four games o far.
They will be aiming to complete a double against UP Wizards after beating them 3-1 in lucknow earlier this month. A win on Monday will take Delhi to 21 points and they will share the top spot with Ranchi Rays.
Under Simon Child's captaincy, the Waveriders will start as favourites against UP. With Rupinder Pal Singh, the Waveriders have potent dragflicker who is presently the second highest goal- scorer in the league with six strikes.
Cedric D'Souza, Waveriders coach said: "Every team is well balanced in this HIl and this game will also be a tough match — the key being a consistent performance. This is our first home match and we want to start on a winning note. So, we will go all out for a win."
It will be a tough task for the Wizards, who are on a three-match losing streak, to stop the hosts. They have just seven points and are presently lying at the fifth spot in the six-team tournament.
But UP coach Roger Van Gent is confident of making the impossible possible despite accepting the fact that Delhi are on a good run.
When asked whether Delhi are on a roll, he replied: "Yeah. They are on a roll, they are playing well."
Also being the strategic coach of Indian national team, he is happy with Rupinder's performance so far in this tournament. "Rupinder Pal is doing very well. As assistant coach of India I am very happy he is playing well," he said.
"So you have one challenge and we have to win and stop them [Delhi]," he explained.
Van Gent also said the team is changing the tactics a bit to improve their defensive structure.
"We discussed and we adjusted our tactics a bit — it's about defence. We are working on our Penalty Corners. We changed our tactics a little bit so there is a more defensive structure," he said.
He also wants the team to take the chances which they are creating. "We are creating the chances, but not scoring enough. Sometimes you also need luck," he added.
Also consistency is another thing which UP needs to improve as the team are not able to make the most of their good starts.
Eddie Ockenden of Wizards said: "Some parts of our games are good. We have to do it for whole match."
"We score first in most of the games and first half has been really good, so we controlled it really good. So those sorts of things are good. Maybe it's not continuing with the same style in second half or the opponents come aggressively and we haven't dealt with it. So positive things are there for us to build on," he explained.