Proud of my girls' fighting spirit, but not results, says coach Dennerby after India's loss to Morocco

Bhubaneswar, Oct 15 (IANS) A day after India's defeat against Morocco in the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup 2022 Group A tie, India head coach Thomas Dennerby on Saturday said he was reasonably satisfied with the overall performance of his wards but certainly disappointed with the results so far.

Hosts India suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Morocco in their second Group A match and crash out of the tournament here on Friday.

"I am proud of my girls for their performance yesterday but not very happy with the result at the end. But they gave it all on the pitch," said Dennerby in an AIFF release.

"I know we are out of the tournament but still I am happy about the way my girls fought till the end. Our fitness level wasn't a problem. But we are not up to the mark technically. This is one area where we need to work harder," he added.

After keeping their rivals at bay till half-time, India conceded three goals in the second half against Morocco.

"I was trying to organise our team game for so long and have been practising to play the final and the crucial pass with accuracy. We should have scored one when Anita was in a one-on-one situation with the rival keeper in the second half," the 64-year-old said.

"Football is mainly a sport of skills and we have a little bit more to do in this area. That's the truth," he added.

Meanwhile, midfielder Shubhangi Singh, who had a good day in the office against Morocco, said, "Yes the result is disappointing but we did our best. We wanted to take every chance we could. Personally, for me, it was really a challenge to tackle and hold back Morocco attackers, but I was focused to give them a tough fight."

The result notwithstanding, the Young Tigresses displayed a fighting spirit against Morocco and dished out a strong performance at the back as well as in the middle of the field.

"Coach had a specific plan for us and we tried to follow it. We knew how to play technically but somehow the result wasn't in our favour. Everyone could see we played better than our last game as we did not give up," captain Astam Oraon said after the final whistle.

"And that's exactly what coach had asked us to do - to make the best use of all the hard work we did for the last 7-8 months on the field. The penalty which was awarded against us changed the whole game and eventually, we lost," she concluded.