Lille - Open 2

So a difficult day for the team. Three matches. Three defeats. One of them, to the Dutch, very heavy. However, the numbers only tell part of the story. Part of being an insider is just that - you get to see what is behind that story.

Granted the team has not played up to their level so far. But lost in the background noise are the great little plays that went unrewarded - several occasions where opposition indiscretions either didn't cost or even gained because of the layout. Others were the little extra vigorish went unrewarded.

Momentum is a word that is frequently banded about. It is a nebulous concept - some mystical plane that somehow gets ascended to where all of a sudden every card starts flying in the direction you want. And yet, momentum is what this team needs. Tomorrow brings another opportunity to kickstart things. Lowly Bosnia (although not as lowly as currently ourselves), a Bye and a finale against bottom placed (presumably South) Korea.

The team needs wins and big ones too. But despite things not having gone well at the table, I still have reason to feel it can be turned around. There is no blame culture. People have put their hands up and taken responsibility for the things they have done wrong and often for things they haven't. They are all unified in pulling for the team goal. And eventually, the tide must turn. The question is whether it can turn quickly, and strongly, enough.