India head coach Manolo Marquez minced no words and tore into the team after their poor show against Syria in the final league match of the Intercontinental Cup on Monday. Syria won the match 3-0, with goals from Mahmoud Al Aswad and Dahelo Mohsen, sending India packing from the tournament. Winners of the title in 2018 and last year, India’s elimination from the Cup signals throws a dampener to Marquez’s stint as coach, which began in July after Igor Stimac parted ways with the AIFF.

India were under pressure from the get go, and seemed to have pressed the panic button after the opening goal was scored by Aswad in only the 7th minute. More attacks were piled on India as a Alaa Aldin Yasin Dali’s kick from a close distance rattled the crossbar before goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved a close chance in the 35th minute. Disappointed with the result, Marquez was not impressed with how his boys operated, especially in the first half, and let it rip.

“I am angry with the first half. I don’t like teams that are scared. In the first- half, we were not brave,” he said after the match.

A contrasting second half but not enough

India put up a much better show in the next 45 minutes, creating chances and threatening to score, which acted as a balm of sorts to Marquez. Determined to make a comeback, India made tactical changes at halftime and played with more intensity. They created several promising chances, with Sahal Abdul Samad and Lallianzuala Chhangte combining effectively on the left flank. However, their finishing was off target, and Syria’s goalkeeper made a series of impressive saves.

Against the run of play and with 13 minutes left on the clock, Syria doubled their lead with a clinical counter-attack, before a late goal sealed their victory and left India facing the prospect of finishing last in the tournament. Nonetheless, the fight shown by the Blue Tigers was something Marquez was satisfied, admitting that Syria was the better team.

“I am satisfied with the second half. The score isn’t a real reflection of the game. We at least deserved to score. The players’ attitude and positioning was better after the break. We were braver and at least created chances. Syria have very good players. They killed us on the counter. They had many chances throughout the game,” the head coach pointed out.