The highlight of the Thailand game was the fighting spirit shown by the boys- Bibiano Fernandes

The Indian U-16 head coach also pointed out the reason of defeat against the Southeast Asians.

Indian National Team U-16 Head Coach Bibiano Fernandes stated that “momentary lapses” cost India U-16 the match against a powerful Thailand U-16 in their second match of the four-nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament in Wei Nan, China on Thursday.

“The target as always was to win the game and we had the match tied 1-1 till the 87th minute. But momentary lapses cost us thereafter, and we conceded two in the last three minutes,” Bibiano stated. “In fact, we started on the front foot and created some chances but Thailand defended well and got their breaks.”

In the game where India had their moments and raided the Thai citadel without break, it was Thailand who had taken the lead in the 41st minute. The Indian colts pulled one back through Vikram Pratap Singh in the 48th minute but Thailand managed to sneak in the win in the dying minutes.

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“There were moments of lapse of concentration. We are working hard to cut down on such lapses. The beauty of these exposure tours organised by AIFF with SAI is that you get to know your shortcomings allowing you be stronger for the future challenges.”

Lauding the “fighting spirit” shown by his boys, Bibiano added: “The highlight of the game was the fighting spirit shown by the boys. To come back from a goal down and showing the hunger to go for the win rather than just playing for a draw was commendable.”

“It is very important for us to play tough opponents because they help us understand and analyse where we stand as a team and gives a learning experience to focus on things to improve on.”

The Indian U-16s next play DPR Korea next on Saturday, July 07, 2018.