Robson laments lack of attack

AFC – TEHRAN, Bryan Robson admitted Thailand need to improve their potency in front of goal after they failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ finals following a narrow 1-0 defeat to Iran at Azadi Stadium on Wednesday.

The visitors needed to win to snatch a place at the finals in Doha and although they held the hosts for the vast majority of the game, a lack of goal scoring threat meant they were only ever going to secure a point at best.

In the end, Javed Nekounam’s last gasp strike secured all three points for Iran, who finish top of Group E with Jordan claiming second place after beating Singapore 2-1.

“It is very upsetting not to be in the finals of the tournament,” said Robson.

“The team has had many problems since I arrived here, I did my best to resolve these problems but in the end I could not find a solution to the problems of my offence.

“Iran are a very strong team, they were both technically and physically better than us and this superiority accounted for the victory they gained. I wish them all the best in the tournament in Qatar.

“I am hopeful Thailand’s young talents can some day resolve their problems with regards to scoring. We really had big problems due to poor finishing.“

Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi hailed his players’ fighting spirit as they picked up their fourth win in qualifying.

The Iranian fans had become frustrated in their inability to break down the Thais but the players dug in before Nekounam grabbed the reward for their endeavours.

“My team consists of both young talent and veteran players,” said Ghotbi.

“We had a tough job against Thailand today, they were mainly thinking about defending and breaking on counter attacks. My players were also really exhausted as all of them had only recently completed their club duties.

“My players were experienced enough not to be distracted by the crowd and they finally got the reward for their perseverance by scoring the winner in stoppage time. The late goal from Nekounam is part of football and kept everyone waiting until the very last minutes of the game.

“There has been a very good atmosphere amongst my players during recent days and that also helped the team succeed.”