Anuroop Athiparambath -
SHARJAH, JAN 10 -
Oman head coach Pim Verbeek remained positive after losing a close match against Uzbekistan in their Group F opening match at the Asian Cup 2019 at the Sharjah Stadium on Wednesday.
“We didn’t have the luck to score one or two goals more. Oman played very well
in this match and we deserved a better
result,” the Dutchman told reporters after the match.
Verbeek said Uzbekistan could capitalise big on couple of mistakes by Oman. Oman also missed some goal opportunities very closely.”
The Oman coach said the team will now focus on taking the full points from the next two matches.
“We will look to win our
next two matches and take the possible six points.”
Oman will meet Japan in their next Group F clash at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on January 13.
“We will analyse today’s Japan-Turkmenistan match to prepare our strategy for the next clash against Japan,” the coach said.
Japan beat Turkmenistan3-2 to earn first three points along with Uzbekistan in
Group F.
Cuper happy
Uzbekistan head coach Hector Cuper expressed satisfaction after prevailing against Oman in a difficult game.
“We are happy with the three points, especially against a good team like Oman,” the Argentine told a post-match press conference.
He said Oman were good in the second half after Uzbekistan played well in the first half.
“Oman put us under enormous pressure in the second half. We were actually forced to play defensive after their relentless attacks.”
In response to a query, Cuper said they had hopes of finding a winning goal after Oman equalized in the 73rd minute and pushing ahead.
“We were waiting for some good counter moves and luckily we got one on target,” he said.
The veteran coach said his players will not be complacent after a good start to the tournament.
“The Asian Cup will be full of
such tough games. We cannot afford to rest on our opening win. We will continue to make assessment for
better strategies in the upcoming matches. We will examine our mistakes in the match against Oman too,” Cuper concluded.
Uzbekistan will meet Turkmenistan in their next match at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Sunday.
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