New Delhi, June 18 (Agency) Legendary striker Shabbbir Ali feels India played purposeful football against Vietnam in the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup match, and could have done better than a 1-1 draw. “In the end, the 1-1 draw was a bit of a disappointment. We could have won, perhaps. Our build-ups were solid, full of purpose and boys created chances whenever they had the ball,” said Shabbir, who captained joint winners India in the 1974 Asian Youth Championship, Now a member of the AIFF Executive Committee and chairman of its advisory committee, Shabbir said he was impressed with the performance of the Indian boys. “India is in a strong group. Vietnam is a compact side, and so are Uzbekistan and Japan. What impressed me was India never lost their pattern of play against Vietnam. They held the ball and distributed it well. There was no panic and sense of unnecessary urgency among the boys….I liked this,” he said. Another former India captain, Climax Lawrence, was happy with the result. “It wasn’t all about the draw. I admit having three points would have been better, but India had the opportunity to pocket full points. They started well and had greater say on the proceedings in the first half an hour,” said Climax.
Climax drew attention to the fact that India had four clear attempts at the rival goal in the second half. “Vietnam had a couple of opportunities in the first half, but our defence did extremely well to keep them at bay throughout the second session. Our coach Bibiano Fernandes did a fine job with the substitutions. It added value to our game. “Overall, India played well and played to a plan. I think they can do better than this against stronger opponents like Uzbekistan and Japan,” said Climax, a member of the AIFF Executive Committee.