Mahesh Naorem impresses Igor Stimac on debut as India look to improve their defense despite win over Myanmar

The Indian team started their Tri Nation tournament campaign really well with a 1-0 win over Myanmar. Anirudh Thapa scored the only goal in the game as it was a historic outing for the Blue Tigers to play at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Manipur.

The Manipuri crowd showed great response as the stadium was mostly filled and it was a great experience for the locals to see the Indian football in action. The hosts played a good brand of football and created loads of chances but were wasteful as could end up with only a 1-0 win.

India scored the goal right at the stroke of half-time as Thapa handed the lead. The hosts had the upper hand for most parts and could have scored more. There were a couple of controversial decisions from the referee aswell.

Stimac did not mince his words as he was clear that India deserved a 3-0 win rather than the actual score of 1-0. But he was happy with the overall game and he was satisfied with his players. “It was a good football game and everybody could enjoy the quality of football. It was a close game because of only one reason the referee as he did not give a clear-cut penalty. For me the result tonight is 3-0, not 1-0,” Stimac stated at the post match press conference.

He hailed goalkeeper, Amrinder Singh and also lauded Sunil Chhetri who could have had a hattrick. He highlighted that some defensive improvements are still needed but overall he was satisfied. “I cannot say anything to my players as they did everything we agreed upon. We need to work on few defensive situations and not give away easy fouls in dangerous positions. Overall we won the game and it was a clean-sheet. Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh was excellent tonight and Sunil was unfortunate not to score.”

“He could have scored a hat-trick and was hungry to score. Thanks to the supporters and the govt. for organizing a ceremony before the start of the game,” Stimac added.

The Croatian tactician handed debuts to Mahesh Singh Naorem and Mehtab Singh. He shared that while Mehtab was a little too nervous, he was surprised by Mahesh who played without any pressure and applied himself beautifully.

“It was a great debut for Mehtab Singh but was sometimes too nervous. He will get used to the pressure and we had only one training session before the match. Naorem (Mahesh) was a big surprise because I could see what he is capable of during the ISL but when players come from ISL to the national team it is a different kind of pressure. He was brilliant and everything he did tonight was good,” the Croatian tactician added.

Lastly Stimac was happy with the immense turn out at the Khuman Lampak Stadium but suggested them to cheer for the team rather than being sleepy. He feels that fans cheering for their players motivates them on the pitch and it helps them to push even harder.

“There were many people tonight but most of them were sleeping. We need them to cheer up in our next match against Kyrgyzstan. I appreciate they came here in good numbers but when the team needs support you need to be there for them. When the crowds become sleepy players too become sleepy and it affects them.”

“They were brilliant and a big thanks to them for coming up in huge numbers to support. Against Kyrgyzstan we expect them to be singing for 90 minutes which is what we expect,” he concluded.

India will play their second match against stronger oppositions, Kyrgyz Republic on 28th March at the same venue.