India fought hard against Thailand in the first international friendly in Bangkok on Saturday, but was eventually beaten by the home side thanks to a solitary goal by their prolific striker Sarayoot Chaikumdee.
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Thailand’s coach Bryan Robson appeared to be optimistic about his side’s chances ahead of the second match on Wednesday to be played at the Dr Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi. “What we played on Thailand was mixed of experience and young players. We are going with some of the U-23 side players as a run up to our preparation for the Asian Games as the young lads need to have proper exposure and practice ahead of the tournament. In the first game, three players made debut and two had a very good outing,” said the former Manchester United captain as quoted on the AIFF website.
“Indian team is very well organized and disciplined. They work hard for each other and made difficult game for us,” said ‘Robbo’ regarding the performance of Bob Houghton’s side in the first game.
“They showed a great composure even after conceding a goal and didn’t charge on to us, which made difficult for us to score goals.
“India had a great chance, when Sunil Chettri hit the woodwork. When you play against better teams in this area, you need to avail those chances or at the end could be beaten,” Robson explained.