India will play Macau in AFC Asian Cup Qualifier 2019 match. (Source: PTI)
The Indian football team ended their nine-match winning streak after ending the tie against St Kitts and Nevis in a 1-1 draw during their tri-nation series and coach Stephen Constantine has labelled this result as a wake-up call ahead of his team’s AFC Asian Cup Qualifier 2019 against Macau.
“The game against St Kitts and Nevis was a wake-up call for us. We made a mistake in defending a corner and we paid for it. To me, it was a lesson learnt as we need to be more focused and determined,” said Constantine.
Constantine insisted that the team missed out on a number of chances of scoring against St Kitts but they can’t afford to do so against Macau.
“Also, we had chances to win the match but as we didn’t take it and had to settle for a draw. What I mean to say is that you won’t get that many chances against Macau. So we need to be on our toes,” he said.
“Let us not forget that they will be playing at home and in front of their home crowd and like all other teams, they will be playing to win at home,” the India coach said.
Talking about his team, the Indian coach suggested that they need to continue with the kind of hard work they have been putting in.
“Perhaps on paper, all may label us to have the advantage but unless you go and play, and do the right work on the pitch, you won’t be able to come back with a result. We need to continue doing the hard work on match day and need to finish it off.”
