NEW DELHI: The Indian Senior National Team reached Guwahati, Assam for the return leg of their AFC Asian Cup 2019 UAE Qualifiers tie against Laos today (June 04, 2016), after defeating Laos by a solitary goal in the 1st leg of the tie away from home. The ‘Men in Blue’ landed in the Capital from Vientiane, Laos via Bangkok in the wee hours of today (June 04, 2016) morning and reached Guwahati in the afternoon.
Jeje’s 56th minute strike in Laos proved to be the difference between the two sides and gave the ‘Men in Blue’ a slight advantage going into the 2nd leg which is slated to kick-off on June 07, 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Assam.
Speaking exclusively to www.the-aiff.com, Head Coach Stephen Constantine informed that the focus is now all on the return leg. “We went there (Laos) for a purpose. We have achieved an away win though I feel we should have done better”, Constantine reflected on India’s win in Laos.
“We now focus on the return leg and need to finish it off”
“It is too early to predict changes in the starting line-up for the 2nd leg. Everyone has a job to do, right from the players on the pitch to the bench”, Constantine added.
The British Coach also hailed his support staff in the Indian National Team and said, “In such a hectic schedule you always turn to your support staff. The medical staff - Gigi George and Sreejith Kamal have just been excellent”
Meanwhile Jeje, whose strike in the first leg handed India an advantage going into the second leg, felt that, “Everyone of us has a responsibility and we need to carry it out”
“It feels nice to have scored in the 1st leg, but I was just doing my job”, the Mizo striker added.
