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Stephen Constantine not 'over the moon' with India's Tri-Nations cup win

India managed a disappointing 1-1 draw against St. Kitts & Nevis but managed to win the Tri-Nation series on Thursday night at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai. Jackichand Singh’s brilliant header gave the hosts the lead but the visitors restored parity in the second half.

The Blue Tigers came into this match on a nine-match winning streak and were expected to increase their tally to 10. Unfortunately, Stephen Constantine’s were sluggish at times and had to remain content with a draw.

Speaking on India’s performance, coach Constantine said,  “I am not over not over the moon. We had enough chances but we didn’t take those chances and in the end, we got stung from a corner which was really disappointing. We had worked hard on that quite a bit. At the end of the day it's football, it happens. We take a lesson from this that’s for sure.”

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India looked shaky at the beginning of the both matches they played in this tournament. Their dominance was not visible right from the word go. On that, the gaffer said, “I am not pleased with the way they started the games, but we have to consider the fact when did they last play a 90 minutes game?

"The season ended in May and it is August now. That is the reason I wanted these games before the important one against Macau and I thank AIFF for making this possible.”

India's opponents on the night, St. Kitts & Nevis, looked good in patches during the game and did their best to hold a much stronger Indian side.

On their experience in this tournament, the away coach Jacques Passy said, “The experience was brilliant because, for a country of 40,000 people, it is hard to grasp.

"I took a tour of Mumbai this morning and I saw a train and on that train, you can see half of the population of St. Kitts & Nevis. So the experience for a country like that to come to India and play is great.”

On asked whether the Mexican coach was happy with his team’s performance, he said “I am not happy about not winning the tournament. We came here to win but I will take my conclusions regarding this game. I am happy with the performance but not with the result.”

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