Chennai, Feb 17: Having conceded two late goals to be held to a draw, India will look to iron out their shortcomings when they take on Nepal in the second women’s International football friendly at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
The first match ended in a 2-2 draw after India took the lead in the second half through goals from Soumya Guguloth and Indumathi Kathiresan. However, Nepal left it late in injury time, when Sabitra Bhandari netted two goals in three minutes to draw level.
The Indian Women’s Team head coach Thomas Dennerby sounded cautious on the eve of the second International friendly, saying, “We were certainly the better of the two sides on the day, and definitely should have closed that match with a comfortable win. It was just a few minor mistakes that led to those late goals.”
The Blue Tigresses coaching staff has been tirelessly working with the players to get smooth the creases, and Dennerby believes that these are the experiences that will eventually help the players ahead of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers First Round, where India has been placed in Group G, alongside the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan.
Even though the team had a near-comfortable victory snatched from its grasp, Dennerby was quite positive about how the Blue Tigresses are shaping up. (IANS)
