Mumbai: India’s chief coach Stephen Constantine has blamed ‘individual errors’ as the reason behind the hosts’ 1-2 defeat against New Zealand in the Intercontinental Cup football tournament here.
It was India’s first defeat in the tournament and Constantine said silly individual errors cost India the match. “Look, whenever you win two games 5-0, 3-0, maybe you get a little-bit carried away. New Zealand were a young and disciplined side, they played quite well. We made some mistakes. We didn’t start off as we did in the previous two games. We scored first and we let two silly goals in. Individual errors cost us. This is part of the learning process. We are not going to beat every team 3-0,” the coach told reporters Thursday.”
The Englishman made as many as seven changes to India’s starting line-up and he said it was pre-planned after the hosts had registered two convincing wins on the trot. “It was always going to happen, because we are using this tournament to prepare for the Asian Cup. We were always going to change the team. Obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was important that the youngsters got the opportunity to play,” Constantine said.
Chhetri thanks fans
Mumbai: Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri has welcomed the overwhelming fan support from across the country after his emotional message on social media urging to back the team up went viral. “Our team’s pride and passion to represent the country is at an all-time high considering the nationwide outpour of love and support over the past week,” Chhetri said after the narrow loss to New Zealand. “We are motivated to give it our very best on the pitch for our country, our fans and emerge victorious. I am hopeful that this excitement and energy will continue throughout the tournament,” he added.