The penalty was soft, claims Hirose Ryu after loss to India

The Japanese joint-head coach of Cambodia also talked about Sunil Chhetri's performance.

Hirose Ryu's Cambodia were brushed aside by Sunil Chhetri's brace in their 2-0 loss to India on Wednesday. It was the perfect start to life for the Blue Tigers in their quest to qualify for a successive AFC Asian Cup. The Angkor Warriors were outclassed in all aspects of the game. Cambodia take on Hong Kong next on 11th June.

Ryu had to face some tough questions from the media after the frustrating loss. He spoke about the penalty decision, how they lost the game, and more.

What went wrong

Ryu was not happy with the fact that Cambodia started their qualifying campaign with a loss. He stressed the area where they failed to assert their dominance.

“Obviously, it wasn't the result we wanted and did not want to lose the first game in the qualifiers. We weren't helped by the individual players in their team. We had space to create chances, but couldn’t do anything about it.”

Impression on Chhetri

Ryu spoke about what he thought of the Indian captain and his style of play.

"He is a talented player. His agility and speed is really good. We wanted to fight against a physically stronger team, we need that kind of player in our team."

Impression on the penalty?

The decision to give a penalty after Liston Colaco was brought down in the box has led to much debate. Here is what the coach had to say about the decision.

“It was very soft. It was a case of our players getting beaten and then the Indian players perhaps influencing the referee to get the penalty”

Delay on national anthem before the game

Ryu was not too interested about issues which happen before or after the game. He urged his players to remain focused on what was within their control.

“We didn’t really get frustrated by that but we got low key by that. That is why the players were called back for the refreshments. That’s it.”

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