Jamie Day was full of praise with the performance of his young team after securing his maiden international win as a national team coach. But the English coach now wants to focus more on the upcoming, tougher group fixtures by taking the confidence from Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Bhutan.
“I’m extremely pleased to win the game. The boys played exceptionally well. They worked hard and scored at the right time. It was a deserving win. It was tough to get three points and now we are looking forward for the next game,” said Day after the game.
“I think we needed to win today because if you watched the match between Pakistan and Nepal, both are very strong sides and we will have to play two tough games,” continued the 38-year-old. “We got some much needed confidence from this match today and the young boys who played today got confidence that we have to carry into the next matches.”
Day also praised young striker Mahbubur Rahman Sufil for getting into the score-sheet once again after that Asian Games winner against Thailand.
“Sufil has done exceptionally well today. He made some fantastic runs to get behind the four back. He was a constant threat. He worked extremely hard like the other days and I’m pleased that he got the goal. He has now scored two goals in the last three internationals and so that’s a good record for him. Hopefully it will continue.”
While asked about his decision to field Shahidul Alam in spite of Ashraful Islam Rana being in the squad, he replied, “I selected Sohel because he is tall and the positive thing is we kept a clean-sheet without conceding any goals and got three points. That is the most important thing.”
Day was accompanied by Masuk Mia Zoni in the post-match presser and both of them hailed the home crowd for their continuous support throughout the game. Zoni too pledged to continue their fine form in the upcoming matches.
