#INDTJK Post-Match Press Conference: I think India has not played better football in a long time- Stimac

The Croatian tactician was content with the performance and the debut of Mandar Rao Dessai in their defeat against Tajikistan.

India once again had to pay for their poor defence, as Igor Stimac's men started their Intercontinental Cup campaign with a 2-4 defeat against Tajikistan at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. The Persian Lions showed great character in the second half and despite being two goals down, Usmon Toshev's men toiled hard and eventually secured their first win under the new manager.

It was another great day for  Sunil Chhetri as he scored twice in the first half to put India in a commanding position. However, goals from Komron Tursunov, Sheriddin Boboev, Muhammadjon Rahimov and Shahrom Samiyev saw India go down in front of their home supporters.

Watch: Indian fans' chants and songs ahead of game against Tajikistan

Speaking about the defeat Stimac started with the positives from the first half. "I feel sorry for the boys because they were doing a great job in the first 45 minutes. I think India has not played better football in a long long time. I was a little worried about how good things were looking. Hence, I told the team that this position is dangerous and do not lose your patience now, we needed to kill the game."

The former Croatian national team manager raised his voice against the match official, as he said, "I have problems with the referee. He did not give a clear foul on Sahal (Abdul Samad) which led to the first goal for them. Some bookable offences were given to us, but not to Tajikistan. This kind of refereeing I don't understand."

However, Stimac lauded the supporters who came to the stadium and enjoyed their football and backed their team. The stadium was filled to the rafters and it was heartwarming to see the fans boosting their team even in defeat. 

"It is going to be very difficult, but I have told the players to think about what's going to come in September. We are trying a new approach and the results will suffer in the process. The lads are young, but I need to back them up," he commented on putting more focus on the World Cup Qualifiers. 

The Indian football team coach again gave debuts to three new players which included, Narender Gahlot, Jobby Justin and Mandar Rao Dessai. Scrutinizing their performance, Stimac was overall happy with Mandar's showing on the night and was also satisfied with Justin's progress in training. However, he felt Narender is very young and needs more time in the middle. 

Speaking about his final squad with the World Cup Qualifiers just around the corner, Stimac suggested that he needs to try combinations in the next two games. The Croatian tactician was assured that India will have a more stable defence in the coming matches.

"This is the only chance I have to give them opportunities to see how they perform. We have the next camp in the end of August, just ten days before the qualifiers. So, there is no time as I won't be seeing them play in the league as it starts later. So, there is only some Super Cup games that are also after half of the qualifiers," he added. 

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With Stimac's arrival, the Blue Tigers have shown glimpses of the passing football which Indian fans have been dreaming of for the last couple of years. However, the tactician raised concerns over the lack of time given to Indian forwards in the Indian Super League and also in the I-League and the national team's overdependence on Sunil Chhetri.

"Something which I said after the King's Cup. I showed you all that we have more players than you all thought in the past. But, we need to back them up. Our strikers are not getting enough chances to play. Currently, it is only Sunil who is scoring goals. We cannot expect him to score goals always. I need players playing in ISL and I-League and scoring goals. I cannot create centre forwards out of full-backs. They need to play in the leagues," he concluded.