We played with great intensity – India coach Wim Koevermans

India won an international friendly for the first time under Wim Koevermans on Tuesday as they defeated Nepal 2-0 in Siliguri and the Dutchman was full of praise for his side as they ended 2013 on a high.

“It was a very good performance from us. In fact we played two very good matches in Siliguri and of course today we won also in front of our fans so that’s very pleasing. We scored two good goals and could have won by more but I don’t have any regrets. I think Nepal are a very good side but we played with great intensity today and that won us the game,” Koevermans stated at the post-match press conference.

Having lost to Nepal at SAFF Championship 2013, the former Netherlands international had been talking about seeking redemption. Now that it is achieved, the 53-year-old explained that his team has been playing well since the 1-0 win over Maldives in the semi-final.

“Well I have said many times that the performance against Nepal in the SAFF Championship wasn’t good from us. So we were always looking forward to this game and I am very happy with the way we performed. I feel we have been doing well since the Maldives game and today we continued that progress,” he opined.

Reiterating that he now has a bigger pool of players to choose for the India team, Koevermans is happy with the performance of all the newcomers in the squad including Tuesday’s full debutant Narayan Das and he is impressed by the way his players have defended as a team in the two friendlies.

“We have a bigger pool and that’s encouraging going into next year. It was good to end this year on a high and I am very happy with the performance of the new players. Today Narayan did well and even Victorino (Fernandes) made his debut. Our defending is down to the whole team starting from the strikers and everyone works very hard,” he concluded.