Bengaluru, Oct 22 (IANS): The Haryana Steelers faced another narrow loss in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 when they went down 31-32 against U Mumba at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
Speaking about the heart-breaking defeat, Manpreet Singh said, "We played very well, but lost the game. We shouldn't have lost this game. Our defense unit played very well. The defenders carried out a lot of Super Tackles and caught a lot of raiders. I feel when our raiders needed to score, they didn't. That's why we lost the game."
Manpreet further added, "The team is playing well, but we are not able to register victories. The side plays well in the entire game, but they make small mistakes."
Before their match against U Mumba, the Haryana Steelers lost a close game against Dabang Delhi KC as well. When asked about that match, Manpreet said, "We could've won our game against Delhi as well. But Delhi showed a lot of courage. They could have ended the game with a tie by carrying out an empty raid in the end, but Naveen Kumar effected a raid to help his team win."
However, Manpreet believes that Haryana will not be on the wrong end of the result if they don't make unforced errors, "No team can beat us if we don't make unforced errors. If the team plays as one unit, then we will not lose a single match. The players need to start believing in each other's abilities on the mat."
The Patna Pirates will be hoping to continue their form after registering a clinical victory over Dabang Delhi KC in their last game. However, they will face a raging Bengaluru Bulls, who thrashed Tamil Thalaivas 45-28 in their previous match.
The UP Yoddhas will be looking to bounce back into form after a tough 45-51 loss to Gujarat Giants in their previous game. However, they will face a strong challenge from Tamil Thalaivas' raiders Narender and Himanshu Singh.