IMPHAL, March 23: After registering a 1-0 win over Myanmar 1-0 in the opening game of the Tri-nation international football tournament, midfielder Anirudh Thapa said that Blue Tigers are happy with the result but they are now focusing on their next game against the Kyrgyz Republic on March 28.
Despite dominating the proceedings, it was a night of toil for India on Wednesday, as they looked to break down a low block by the Myanmar defence, which was eventually done by Thapa in front of fans at the Khuman Lampak Stadium, here.
“I’m happy to score, but we came here to win, and that’s the most important thing. It was a good start to our campaign,” said Thapa.
The boys came after months together and showed character, and we were all happy to get the first win tonight,” he added.
The Tri-nation international football tournament is only half done for the Blue Tigers and the focus shifted squarely to the next match.
“We had a good game, but now our task is to recover well, focus, and look at the plus points and try to improve on them,” said Thapa.
“For sure, we will try to do our best,” he added.
The national team last played six months ago in Ho Chi Minh City, where they drew with Singapore, and suffered a defeat against Vietnam. The 25-year-old expressed the importance that the Blue Tigers keep playing regularly at an international level.
“Playing against good teams helps us not only raise our level of performance, but also to adapt to different pressure situations that will eventually make us a better, more prepared team. It’s important that we use the coming International windows as well to get as many matches as we can, and help the coaches frame the right team for the future,” he added.
Scoreline could be better
Head coach Igor Stimac said the scoreline could have been better, given the hosts’ complete dominance in the game.
Two decisions involving captain Sunil Chhetri – an apparent foul on him not given as a penalty in the first half and a goal disallowed for offside – led Stimac to state, “For me, the result is 3-0, not 1-0.
“I cannot say anything to my players as they did everything we agreed upon. Goalkeeper Amrinder was excellent tonight, and Sunil was unfortunate not to score.
He was hungry for goals and could’ve had a hat-trick,” said the Croatian in a release.
While many would not have expected Chhetri to play the entire 90 minutes in Imphal just four days after a gruelling ISL final, the skipper’s hunger and determination to get back to national duty was what helped Stimac make the decision.
“Sunil was the first player to make it to the camp after the ISL final. He did not waste a minute but rather rushed to join the national team. That proves his hunger and commitment. He is one of the fittest players in the squad and can play continuously for three days,” the coach said.In the pre-match press conference, Stimac said one of the elements of these friendlies will be to celebrate the players’ achievements in the ISL and recognise their good performances.In line with that, he handed out three national team debuts to Mehtab Singh, Naorem Mahesh Singh and Ritwik Kumar Das. (Agencies)