Couldn't deliver a performance to match the atmosphere: Sunil Chhetri
India captain Sunil Chhetri regretted his side's inability to get a result as the hosts were held to a draw by Bangladesh in their World Cup qualifier match on Tuesday at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
The Blue Tigers were trailing for more than 45 minutes before Adil Khan scored with an 88th-minute header to save India the blushes against the 187th ranked Bangladesh side.
Following Chhetri's plea on Twitter last year, stands in India have filled to large numbers than before and Kolkata on Tuesday responded in fine fashion as tickets were sold out for the occasion.
However, the men didn't deliver as they should have, and Chhetri expressed his disappointment for not being able to do so.
"We couldn't deliver a performance to match the atmosphere at the Salt Lake last night, and the dressing room is very disappointed about it. We couldn’t capitalise on the chances we got, but this is a process on the pitch and in the stands. You turned up, we'll keep attempting to," Chhetri tweeted.
Coach Igor Stimica was also critical of the first-half performance from his team and condemned them for conceding a silly goal.
"Our scoring incapability was the reason why we didn't win. We conceded very silly goal. We can't expect to win the game if you concede such a goal. Their goalkeeper was my man-of-the-match," Stimac told reporters in the post-match media interview.
"We deserved to win this game. We pushed until the end and created enough chances to win the game. But our scoring was not good enough.
"I'm not happy with first 45 minutes. Our players in the back were not passing well. When you play against a team like Bangladesh who put more in defence you need to pass well from behind," the Croatian added.
With the draw, India have 2 points from three games and are fourth in the table below Qatar, Oman and Afghanistan.
India's next assignment will be against Afghanistan away on November 14.
