Constantine slams first-half showing

Despite India registering an emphatic 3-0 victory over Bangladesh in their opening Group-C league match in the Asian Games football tournament on Friday, coach Stephen Constantine admonished his team for a poor show in the opening session, saying the boys played "good football for just 25 minutes".

"We just did not play very well in the first half. It was slightly better in the second half. The boys played good football for just 25 minutes," Constantine told reporters in Ulsan, after the match.

The coach, who has brought about a positive transformation in India's football fortunes in recent months, said his boys would have to improve a lot if they want to pose a challenge to the stronger teams in the championship.

India, clubbed in Group-C along with strong contenders China, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh, play their next match against Turkmenistan on September 30.

Constantine said some of the players did not play up to their potential, particularly in the first session.

"There is a lot of scope for improvement and we really have to work hard in the remaining matches," he said.

Constantine, who took over as the coach from Sukhwinder Singh a few months back, was unhappy with the red card shown to defender Deepak Mondal, saying there was nothing wrong in the tackle which called for such a severe booking.

"It was too harsh, it was not such a rough tackle to be shown red card. Everyone has seen what happened. I hope it is revoked."

Mondal was given marching orders by referee Al Horrassa Rashid of Oman for a rough tackle at the fag end of the match, infuriating Constantine, who was seen arguing with the referee immediately after the final whistle.

Asked whether he had any particular strategy in place to counter Turkmenistan in their next group match, Constantine said, "We have to play to our strengths. We have to keep the good work going and keep learning."