New Delhi: A historic first World Cup goal did little to blunt the disappointment of losing to Colombia as India under-17 football coach Luis Norton de Matos rued the chances missed by his sprightly team in the game played Monday.
“Yes, we could have won the match. We had two chances in the first half. In one of them, we hit the goalpost. Had we scored, we could have had a big chance to win the game. At least it could have been a draw,” De Matos said at the post-match press conference late Tuesday night.
Not many gave India a chance but a win did not look improbable because of the way they played. Late in the first half, Rahul Kannoly’s left-footed volley hit the goalpost and De Matos said that was a crucial miss.
“In the first match against USA also (which India lost 0 -3), the ball hit the post and on the counter they (USA) scored. That match would have been 2-1 (in favour of USA) had the ball gone in. In today’s (Monday) match the result would have been different also,” he asserted.
The Portuguese tactician blamed the loss to a lapse of concentration resulting out of happiness. “Look the boys had never experienced the feeling of scoring in a World Cup. That feeling was yet to sink in when we conceded the second goal,” pointed out De Matos. “Had we held out for three-four minutes, a draw would have happened. Pity we couldn’t achieve that,” De Matos added.
Despite the loss, De Matos was all praise of his players. “The performance of the players was fantastic. I am very proud of them. They have showed that India can compete against the best in the world. They have a fantastic future,” asserted De Matos.
Meanwhile Colombia coach Orlando Restrepo was mighty impressed with India’s gutsy performance. “India played very well. Congratulation to the players and coach. They defended very well and they were very organized” Restrepo told reporters after the game.
Press Trust of India
