Captain Sunil Chhetri was not happy with the Indian football team’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Singapore in the Hung Thinh friendly tournament Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, saying his side will need to go back to the drawing board for the next game against Vietnam. India were the dominant side with more shots at Singapore goal, but failed to convert them, except for once. “There are many things that we could have done better. We missed a lot of chances, and maybe we could have defended a little better. I’m sure the coach will have a talk with us about it,” Chhetri said after the match.
“Without being too harsh on ourselves, there are a few things that we need to work on.”
Asked about India’s last match against Vietnam on Tuesday, Chhetri said, “We have watched their match against Singapore (which Vietnam won 4-0 on Thursday). They are really a good side especially at home. They are one of the most improved sides in Asia in the last five years.
“We have to really go back to the drawing board and improve ourselves against Vietnam. We have to really work hard. It is not going to be the same (as Singapore),” said the 38-year-old talisman.
Asked about the weather during the match, he said, “No excuses from our end about the weather. We were here two days ago, and I must say that the weather is little different here, but it’s quite nice.
“The ground was great. A lot comes down to how we played and we need to do better.”
Ikhsan Fandi put Singapore ahead in the 37th minute when his free-kick from about 25 yards out took a deflection off the Indian wall and beat a diving goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who could lay a hand on the ball but failed to stop it from entering the net.
Singapore’s joy lasted jut six minutes as Ashique Kuruniyan equalised in the 43rd minute off an assist from Chhetri.
Promoted
Jeakson Singh made an interception in the Singapore half, passed the ball to Chhetri, who put Kuruniyan through on goal. Kuruniyan calmly slotted the ball home with a left-footed grounder which beat Singapore goalie and captain Hassan Sunny.
India are currently ranked 104th while Singapore are at 159th. The last time the two sides met each other in 2012, Singapore had won 2-0.
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