#THAIND Post-match press conference: Today's result was a result of excellent defending- Igor Stimac

The Croatian also revealed that he feels the game could have gone 'either way.'

The Indian football team finished their King's Cup campaign on a high, as they defeated hosts Thailand for a narrow 0-1 win at the Chang Arena in Buriram on Saturday. Anirudh Thapa scored the solitary goal in the game, which helped Igor Stimac register his first win as the head coach of the Blue Tigers.

Following the game, the Croatian head coach met the press where he admitted that he is “helpless as a coach” as there is competition for every slot in the team.

“I have competition in my team for every place and that's what makes me helpless as a coach,” he said in a jocular tone at the official post-match press conference after India beat Thailand by a single goal to finish third in the King’s Cup in Buriram.

After a not so lavish performance by the defenders agaisnt Curacao in the opening game of the tournament, the Indian defenders put up a valiant effort against Thailand on Saturday. Talking about defending Stimac said, “Today's result was a result of excellent defending. That was fantastic. Nothing to say about that. Just congratulations.”

“I was a defender playing at the top level. I can show a few things to the boys and that’s what we have been doing in the last two weeks -- explaining things to the players and working on the pitch,” he added.

India scored through Thapa in the first half, but could not produce a goal in the second, as Thailand's tricky gameplay forced them to turn down the pressure on the War Elephants.

“In the second half, Thailand were very organized. They were trying to attack from the wings and put quality crosses. But, as I said before, my defenders were fantastic today. It was just not possible for Thailand to score today with my defenders working like this,” he certified.

Watch Full post-match conference here 

RELATED

• #THAIND Player Ratings: Midfield trident impress as India notch up first win under Igor Stimac

• India debutants react after Curacao game

“I changed a few things after we scored the goal,” Stimac reflected. “I have many inexperienced players who can lose their head during the game. I wanted to let them play freely at the back to pass, move and concentrate to close in the middle," he quipped.

“If we want to keep the ball and pass it around, we could do that against better sides likes Curacao. We kept the possession, pushed them back inside their box and created chances in the second half,” the coach maintained.

Stimac also stated that the “game could have gone either way.” The game also saw a momentary lapse in judgement from Farukh Choudhary and Balwant Singh in front of goal, which could have turned into the second goal for the Blue Tigers.

“After we scored the goal, we allowed Thailand to take possession. We didn't insist on possession. We tried to hold and hurt them on counter-attacks,” he reflected.

[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]

“Off one such counter, we could have finished the game in the first half itself. But, two of my players were a little bit indecisive in front of the goalkeeper,” he explained.

“I would like to thank all my players, staff for helping to fulfil what we wanted to do in the last two weeks. Congratulations to everyone in AIFF too. I'm particularly happy because the people in India supported us after we lost the first game. I'm proud of the players. There are so many young players in the team," he signed off.