Coach Gerardo Martino admits Argentina were boring'

Vina del Mar, June 21 (IANS): Coach Gerardo Martino has admitted his Argentina side were "boring" in the second half of their narrow 1-0 victory over Jamaica in Copa America.

Argentina qualified for the quarter-finals as Group B winners thanks to Gonzalo Higuain's early goal here on Saturday, but Martino was quick to concede that his team have been far from their best in the competition so far.

"We are lacking effectiveness," Martino told a post-match press conference on Saturday.

"It is something we took out of the result against Paraguay, but you cannot legislate for players of the ability of ours missing so many chances. The fact we didn't put the game to bed, coupled with the physical issues we are having towards the end of games, generated uneasiness."

"I thought we did alright in the first half, getting the early goal and then creating four or five chances to score. We also did well to control Jamaica's chances to break. But the second half was boring, our ball control was tedious, the movement of the ball was too slow and we generally lacked speed in processing our play."

Argentina will now play either Ecuador or the third-placed team from Group C on Friday in Vina del Mar in the third quarter-final, and the coach believes the break until then gives his side a chance to replenish their energy reserves.

"We had some good times in the first stage, we have finished third and now we have six days to rest before the quarter-final," he added.