Photo courtesy: AIFF Media

Indian National Coach Stephen Constantine stressed on to importance of exposure matches following a goalless stalemate against Nepal in Balewadi, Pune on Monday (August 31, 2015).

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Constantine said: “It’s a learning process, we created many chances and we dint score. It is as simple as that. We have learned a great deal from the match and that is what International Friendlies are for – you get to see who plays and who does not”

“I had expected this kind of game against Nepal and we lost momentum in the second half. And we tried different players in different positions, and that is another advantage of these Friendly games”

“The Indian Team has had a 9 days training camp, as compared to Nepal, who had been practicing for six weeks”, Constantine quipped. “If given time, I can bet that this Team will perform.”

India takes on Iran in the World Cup Qualifiers next on September 8, 2015. And reflecting upon the Irani opponents, Constantine echoed, “You will not get many chances against Iran. But the plus side is that we created almost 3-4 clear chances. Had we scored, we would’ve won”

“Rowlin (Borges) was the best Player in the second half and Pronoy (Halder) was the same in the first. One of the reasons of substituting Pronoy was that he had been booked”, said the British Coach assessing the performance of India against Nepal.

“Both Sunil and Robin are players who are very hard-working. And sometimes you just don’t click. It happens, that is what Football is all about”

“Some players had run 6-6.5kms in the first half. And that is what I like in my Teams. They should be hardworking”, Constantine informed.

Talking about the dexterity of the Indian Team, Dhurba KC, Coach of the Nepal National Team stated that India were worthy opponents.

“The Indian Team was very tough on the pitch. It was evident through their style of play.I am happy with a draw, as a draw against India can be counted as a good result”, he said earlier in the post-match press conference.

The Indian National Team had been training at the DSK Shivajian’s Training facilities from August 23, 2015. Thanking the DSK contingent, Constantine said, “My special gratitude to the guys at DSK for organizing a brilliant camp. I wish camps like this were all across India”

“I would also like to thank the Media and the fans who supported and cheered for the Team”, the British Coach concluded.

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)