'We gave the ball away too much'
British coach Jamie Day apparently blamed Bangladesh's defeat for lack of the ball possession after suffering a 0-2 defeat to India in the World Cup and Asian Cup Qualifying match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday.
"I thought for 80 minutes we competed very well. The shape was nice and difficult to break down. You see the difference in quality between the players when they were in possession. I think one of the disappointments tonight [Monday] was that we gave the ball away too much and gave possession back to India," Jamie told the reporters at the post-match conference yesterday.
Sunil Chhetri, who had before rescued India twice to play 2-2 and 1--1 draw against Bangladesh despite going down, punished the men in red and green in Doha by striking a brace in last 15 minutes.
"For a long period we did well, we had a couple of half-chances. But if you give Chhetri a chance, he scores like showed tonight. He had two chances in the last 20 minutes and he took them. So we move on to the next game now and take positives out of that," siad the 41-year-old coach.
Jamie also praised his charges to fight against India but that they had to accept the defeat against the quality players.
"I think our players were fantastic. They work their socks off, give their best every day. We just couldn't keep the ball and that shows in games where you give possession away too much. And if you do that against better teams and better players, then at some stage they'll punish you," said Jamie suggesting Bangladesh to heading a long-term plan to.grow up quality players.
"You can't defend for 90 minutes against international teams, but again I can't fault their effort. They worked really hard. We just need to be better on the ball but that's a long-term plan, not a short-term plan."
Bangladesh will now play their group final match against Oman, who beat Bangladesh 4-1 in the first meeting and Jamie Day said they would be expexting a single point from the Oman match, which is also going to be another tough match.
"I think before coming to this World Cup stage, the last three games we put in two good performances, I think we managed two so far.
"And we go into the third game against a really good Oman side, who are ranked higher than India. Last time we played them, we did well for 45-50 minutes and then their quality showed. I'm guessing it will be the same but we'll try and get a point if possible. It's going to be tough. I know the players are going to give their best again and if we can get something it will be a fantastic achievement," said Jamie.
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