Navi Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) Disappointed that India missed chances galore in the goal-less draw against Iran in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, head coach Thomas Dennerby says his side will need to make “a few tweaks” to its attack as it aims for full points against Chinese Taipei in its next group match on Sunday.
A dominant India were let down by their forwards who failed to score despite attacking incessantly, especially in the second half, to share the spoils with Iran. The hosts need a win against Chinese Taipei to keep their quarterfinals hopes alive.
“We have to work on our finishing and go at it again in the second match against Chinese Taipei and get the three points,” Dennerby said.
“I think we have a solid defence, and defended well whenever they tried to counter-attack. A few tweaks to our attack, and we will be ready for our next opponents,” the 62-year-old Swede said.
India completely dominated the Iranians in the second half with impressive passing and build-up play but they failed to find the opposition net even once.
“I am disappointed with the result. We had enough chances to score but it is what it is. It is all down to technical skills, so you are not giving goals, you have to score goals, otherwise you are not good enough,” said Dennerby, who had earlier coached the national teams of Sweden and Nigeria.
He said there is no point looking at the Iran match and his side will need to focus on their next opponents and not the points table.
“It’s always good to come up with points in your first game, you stand a better chance of moving to the next round. We need to follow our plan, and try to get points against Taipei as well,” said Dennerby.
“Chinese Taipei lost to China, but they are a good team, and we need to play well against them.” Wing-back Dalima Chhibber, who made a number of runs and crosses from the right flank, feels the team “can do much better.” “The positive we take from Iran match is that we created a lot of opportunities. That gives us a lot of confidence. Now it’s all about keeping up that fire and the desire to get the job done in our next game,” she said.
“We had a good game against Iran, but as a team we could have been better. Now, it’s all about working on those little areas, and coming out with a stronger mindset. We must focus and get those points that will help us advance.” Iran head coach Maryam Irandoost hailed her charges for showing determination and resilience against India.
“We all know that the first match is going to be tough. Even though we didn’t play any international friendlies prior to the tournament, I think we performed well,” said Irandoost.
“We did our best to keep a clean sheet and it was an important result.” PTI PDS PDS APA APA
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