Indian coach Igor Stimac on Saturday said India produced a positive performance despite going down to a 0-2 defeat against Australia in the AFC Asian Cup opener. Stimac in the post-match press conference claimed he was happy with the team’s performance but not happy with the result.
India started the game brightly, keeping their shape intact to thwart any attacking intent from the Australians. Sunil Chhetri received a golden chance from a header in the first half, but the Indian captain headed the ball wide of the goal. The first half ended goalless with Indian fans hoping for an upset.
However, the Socceroos took the lead right at the start of the second half and added another 23 minutes later to put the game in bed.
Stimac, speaking about India’s performance after the match said, “We expected a very difficult match for us. The physicality of Australia was there as we suffered a lot from the corners. It was a positive performance although not so happy with the result because both Australia’s goals came because of our sloppiness.
“I’m happy as a coach because we held Australia to a goalless draw in the first half with only one clear chance. But second half was not good because we couldn’t make that second pass and go over the half-line. The Australians were better and quicker in their reactions and they read the second-ball situations better than us,” Stimac added.
