India can turn the table on Thais: Houghton

Indian football coach insisted that his own side had the capability to turn the tables around on the Thais.

Even as he praised the Thailand team as being skillful on the field,Indian football coach Bob Houghton insisted that his own side had the capability to turn the tables around on the Thais. And despite a disappointing 1-0 loss on September 4 in Bangkok,Houghton has retained the same set of players for the second leg of the friendly here on Wednesday,even though he agreed that Thailand coach Bryan Robson would try and experiment with team combinations.

At the pre-match press conference,Houghton insisted that it was time for youngsters in the team to take centrestage. With captain and striker Bhaichung Bhutia doubtful for the game he recurred a thyroid problem during training in Portugal and returned home midway,and Houghton said Bhutia was still not completely match fit and Steven Dias and Climax Lawrence also yet to completely recover from injuries sustained way back in July,Houghton feels this is the right time for the younger players to prove themselves.

Lawrence is likely to don the captains armband in Bhutias absence,even though he may well play for only part of the match,which means the central midfield will be manned by young players. Senior player Renedy Singh,who played as a central midfielder in Portugal,will also not play on Wednesday due to a hamstring problem.

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We miss him (Bhutia). He has been a big influence in the side for a long time. He is an exemplary player. But he is going to finish some day. It is difficult to accept. But his absence will give young players a chance to do well for the country. Besides Sunil Chhetri and Mohammed Rafi who played in Bangkok we have three other forwards in Abhishek Yadav,Sushil Kumar Singh,Baljit Singh Sahni. They will have to step up and perform, Houghton said. He said that Bhutia may play the third match against Gambia on September 19 if he was fully fit.

In the present context,therefore,the onus will be on the strikers to convert their chances. Sunil Chetri,Mohhammed Rafi,Abhishek Yadav,Sushil Singh and Baljit Singh Sahni will have to keep the scoreline ticking.

The Englishman,though,was satisfied with the performance of his boys in their 0-1 loss in Bangkok considering that they were playing their first international match after a long two-month tour of Portugal. Thailand are 34 places above India in FIFA rankings and Houghton feels that the Indian team had its chances in Bangkok and will continue to work as a unit in the second match. The only likely change could be that of left-back NS Manju coming in for veteran Mahesh Gawli.

Thai coach Bryan Robson,however,said it would be a tight match considering that he is fielding a mix of senior and Under-23 players again. Thailand will be fielding just five players from the senior side and their 19-member squad here have just six of the 17 players fielded in Bangkok. Two of our players are well under 21 and they have performed exceptionally well in the domestic leagues. Moreover our young goal keeper will face the Indian attack, said Robson.

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As for Houghton,the Indian coach believes playing at the Ambedkar Stadium a happy hunting ground for the hosts will only add to the home advantage.