There were a few lapses of concentration against Russia, says Floyd Pinto
India’s junior football coach Floyd Pinto has said that there were a few lapses of concentration in the game against Russia which led to India’s loss in the first game of the Granatkin Memorial Tournament. India lost the first game of the tournament against the hosts Russia by 0-3 goals.
India under 19 football team had a poor start to their campaign in the Granatkin Memorial Football Tournament in Russia. In the first game, Kirill Kosarev’s hat-trick led to Russia’s emphatic 3-0 win against the Indian colts.
Coach Floyd Pinto, however, has mentioned that the Indians put up a good show together and adapted well to the situation. He didn’t, however, deny that there were a few concentration lapses during the match.
“This was the first game these boys played together. They adapted well to the situation, we defended well in the first half. Yes, there were a few lapses of concentration in the rush of blood and we gave Russia an opening which they capitalised on. Now, we know that we need to put up a better defensive display and hopefully keep a clean sheet against Moldova,” Pinto was quoted as saying by the AIFF website.
“Honestly speaking, we are not happy about our performance last night. We can surely work on how we keep more possession. We need to be more confident on the ball and work more proactively when we have the possession. On the other hand, we need to string a few passes together to create more chances. We'll look forward to structure our movements well and execute our plans that we have done in training.”
In the second match of the competition, the Indian team will take on Moldova who had played against Bulgaria in their campaign opener. Pinto explained that the standard of football of both Moldova and Bulgaria is high. He also said that the team management will look to give match time to as many players as possible.
“Bulgaria and Moldova are very respectable sides. The intensity of their game, the standard of their football is very high. Technically as well as tactically, they played as a complete unit. As far as the equation of the group is concerned, we will only have a clear picture once we play Moldova tomorrow and we can contemplate where we'd probably finish. After this match, we can prepare ourselves for the Bulgaria game and the playoffs.
“Honestly speaking, we can't comment on this now. According to our plan, we will look to give as much game time as possible to all of the 18 players. We need to give all of the players who played in the first match as much time as possible to recover so that we can evaluate them on the morrow. Touchwood, we have no injury scare from last game and everyone is available,” Pinto signed off.
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