Suzhou (China), May 3 (IANS) India women’s U17 head coach Pamela Conti struck a balanced and realistic tone following her side’s 0-2 defeat to the Australian U17 team in their opening match of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup, highlighting defensive positives while candidly addressing areas that need improvement ahead of a tougher test against Japan.

Reflecting on the contest, Conti acknowledged the challenge posed by a physically superior opponent but pointed to internal lapses as the key difference.

“It was a difficult match. We knew Australia had a lot of quality, and it was going to be hard to play with the ball. I think the team did very well defensively. It was important not to concede many goals, and in the end, the two goals they scored came from our own mistakes. That is where we need to improve a lot,” the Italian told the-aiff.com.

Despite conceding once in each half, including an own goal, India showed resilience for long periods, with Conti stressing that her approach was not built around passive defending.

“In the second half, things changed because we attacked more. We already knew that when you open up against teams like this, they will score. I told them to stay as compact as possible, to play with a mid or high block, and to press. I didn’t want the team to just sit back and defend all the time. It’s unfortunate that we scored an own goal,” she added.

The coach drew encouragement from her team’s defensive organisation, particularly in limiting clear scoring opportunities for Australia, saying, “I think there are many positives. First, Australia didn’t have many shots on target. We defended very well. All the players showed great desire and commitment. Now our focus shifts to Japan.”

Conti also underlined the fine margins at the continental level, where goal differences can prove decisive, while noting the contributions of substitutes in a more proactive second-half display.

“Yes, I’m very proud of my team. I think we played a great match. But we also have to be realistic. We are talking about Australia, a very strong team. We played well, but now we face Japan, which will probably be even more difficult. We also have to manage the players physically because it won’t be easy,” she stated.

Looking ahead, Conti did not shy away from the magnitude of the upcoming challenge, having witnessed Japan’s dominant performance earlier in the day.

“I went to watch the first half of Japan’s match against Lebanon. They are an incredible team. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team at this age play like that. We have to be very careful because it will be a long and demanding match. We will do video analysis of the mistakes we made and continue working towards the match against Japan,” said Conti.

–IANS

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