Khaleej Times

Long way to go: India coach

- Ashwani Kumar ashwani@khaleejtim­es.com

abu dhabi — Indian coach Stephen Constantin­e said players shouldn’t get carried away by the 4-1 blitzkrieg result over Bahrain in the AFC Asian Cup, but stay focused on next opponent — the UAE.

“I am delighted with the performanc­e. The boys fought for the entire 93 minutes. We took the lead in the first half but gave away the ball easily. In the second half, we looked after the ball in a better way. We got the early goal and Thailand were on the back foot from there on,” the coach said while assessing the game.

He said there’s job to be done and players need to stay focused.

“We try to win every game. We have done well in last 2-3 years. We aren’t getting carried away. The boys need to keep feet on the ground. We are pleased with the result but we are yet to qualify. We need more points to qualify. We are young side and a capable. We have three points now and got two more games.”

Constantin­e is eagerly looking forward to the next opponent.

“We will be back to training ground tomorrow (Monday). Next up is the UAE. The UAE will be a different game but they are just another team standing in our way.”

Meanwhile Thailand coach Milovan Rajevac said the better side had won.

“They wanted this victory very much. We underperfo­rmed in the second half. India deserved to win. They showed excellent performanc­e in second half. We have to learn from this match and be better in our next one.”

 ?? Photo by Ryan Lim ?? India’s Udanta Singh Kuman vies against Thailand goalkeeper Chatchai Bootprom. —
Photo by Ryan Lim India’s Udanta Singh Kuman vies against Thailand goalkeeper Chatchai Bootprom. —

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