King’s Cup 2019 | When were supposed to shoot, we were passing, says Igor Stimac
India’s national team football coach Igor Stimac has stated that his side’s decision making in the attacking third was the biggest mistake they committed against Curacao on Wednesday. The Blue Tigers started King’s Cup with a 1-3 defeat in Buriram, Thailand, as they get ready for third place match.
It was a tale of two halves for India. After a disastrous first half that saw the Blue Tigers conceding goals like anything, Stimac made some pivotal changes early in the second half that saw Curacao creating fewer chances and India getting more opportunities to reduce the deficit. However, none of them actually converted into a goal despite Chhetri hitting the post once. Stimac has been of the opinion that those half chances made all the difference for India.
"And I think (we had) 5-6 good situations in the second half to score the second goal and maybe come back and put some pressure on them in the last 10 minutes. But our decisions in the final third were not good. When were supposed to shoot, we were passing (and vice versa),” he said in the post-match press conference, reported Goal.com.
“There is a long way for us to keep learning. "I am very proud of the achievements, especially what we showed in the second half. Especially with the younger players who have shown great character, they have no fear coming on the pitch. This is what I like, we have a good future,” he added.
While Chhetri converted from the spot for India’s only goal, Curacao saw Roly Bonevacia and Elson Hooi going on a rampage in India’s defensive third. And, Leandro Bacuna’s goal pretty much put the final nail on the coffin and Stimac didn’t mince his words while praising his opponents.Â
"Congratulations to Curacao team. As I said yesterday (Tuesday), they are the favourites here and they showed today in the first 45 minutes that they are a different class," India head coach Igor Stimac said after the game. They have 6-7 top quality players. They know the moves. They were fit enough because their season just finished 10 days ago in their leagues in Europe. And that was our problem in the first half," he said.
Stimac introduced Michael Soosairaj, Amarjit Kiyam, and Raynier Fernandes in the second half and the impact was huge. The manager likened their performance with the weather in Buriram on Wednesday, which ranged from extremely humid to thunder and rain in either half.Â
"Our team, we were like how the weather was. One half, the sun was shining. After we changed a few things at half-time, we started playing better. We were controlling possession much better. Especially closing the midfield down with their dangerous passes. That's what we got from two young players coming on from the bench.
"Positive for us was the second half, (where we had) two substitutions - 18-year-old Amarjit and 22-year-old Raynier Fernandes who gave us good passing and movement. Without the ball, they were covering well in front of their big striker. We never surrendered, we kept playing. We kept playing football with the discipline which I asked them to do. That was very positive," he concluded. Â