Kolkata: After the Indian U-23 side went down 2-0 to their Syrian counterparts in the first match of the AFC U-23 Championship Qualifiers, head coach Stephen Constantine praised the efforts shown by his boys but also highlighted that the lack of experience is what that made the difference at the end. Goals from Rabi Srour (64′) and Farnes Arnout (88′) helped Syria get off to a good start in the tournament.
“The boys played their heart out but eventually, the lack of experience cost us the match, ” he said.
Although some of the youngsters performed well, the Englishman felt that it was the team effort which matters at the end. He added, “Some of the boys might have had a good game but I believe this is a team game where everyone needs to perform and they’ve had a great team effort tonight. We’ll take it forward to the next game.”
Most of the members in the Indian team would be playing their fourth international match against hosts Qatar tomorrow which just goes to highlight the inexperience of the side. Qatar has performed brilliantly last year in the same competition and when asked as to whether this fact would be a sort of a mental block for the Indians, Constantine said, ‘it’s not the same team anymore.’ He also highlighted the fact that they have been having a same coach for a good amount of time, which is an advantage to them.
He said, “A lot of players from that batch might have graduated to the senior team. Their main advantage is that they’re having the same coach throughout.”
He further added, “Playing a late evening match, that too at their home is really going to be advantageous for them.”
Nonetheless he also praised the agility of the current Qatar U-23 team, calling them, ‘very quick.’
He said, “They (Qatar) look very quick at times. They have an utmost quality I must say. It’ll be a big challenge for us against them.”
In their first match, Qatar successfully went past Turkmenistan by a 2-0 margin. They are scheduled to face the Indians next at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
Talking of the Syria match, the Indians also drew praise from Hussain Afash, the Syria coach.
He said, “In actual facts, Indians pressed us very hard in the first half and they were playing manoeuvring football. In the second half, they conceded two goals but I must say, they got under our skin and these boys are definitely going to have a great future ahead.”
It remains to be seen as to how quickly the Indians can recover from this loss and put up a good show against the hosts.
Constantine however feels that a packed stadium would help his boys perform better.
He said, “When you’re playing at this stage, you want the stadium to be full. It keeps the adrenaline flowing amongst the players. Personally, I hope a good number of Indians will turn out in our support tomorrow.”