Stephen Constantine, the chief coach of Indian football team is worried on the unviability of his one of the experienced central defender Sandesh Jhingan before his boys’ opening tie against Sri Lanka in the SAF championship on Friday. Along with Anas Etathodika, Sandesh Jhinghan has also been ruled out of the tournament due to his shoulder injury.
The key reason behind Stephen’s worry on the absence of Sandesh is Sri Lanka’s defensive style of play. Stephan has openly stated in the media conference on Thursday, “Sri Lanka generally tries to depend on ultra-defensive style and then on counter attack. So, unless our defense is solidified it would be tough for us to maintain the pressure of our opposition. And in this case, if Sandesh was available then I would have been quite confident.”
Sri Lanka’s coach Sampat Pereira, a former international defender who had played in Kolkata in the early eighties also revealed in the media conference saying, “India is a much stronger side. And having defeated Nepal in our opening match, we are on the top of the table. So, if we can gather at least one point against India then it might be easy for us to ensure berth in the semifinal. So, tomorrow we will not take any risk. We will be going on counter attacks, but after making our defensive organization compact only.”