Intercontinental Cup 2018: Jet-lagged Kenyan coach Migne watches New Zealand win from stands

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Mumbai, June 2: It’s not always that you see the head coach of a national team warming the stands when his side is busy trying to find answers against the opposition. But at the Intercontinental Cup 2018 tie between Kenya and New Zealand at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday, this is exactly what we saw.

Kenya's head coach Sebastian Migne, who reached the city in the wee hours on Saturday (June 2) chose to skip the technical area and observe his side from the stands as they rallied to record a 2-1 win over All Whites.

Addressing the media post his side’s win, Migne clarified his decision. “I landed at four in the morning and wasn't a part of the training session (during the last two days),” he said. “I had full confidence in local staff and I had full respect for them as they prepared the team. This wasn’t a problem for me. It’s only about the players. I had to respect my assistant (Francis Kimanzi) and the team.”

Migne says he was pleased with the way his boys played against New Zealand. “We’re happy to win; it was a fantastic opportunity for my players to discover a new continent and opposition. It was difficult for us to find good balance in the team because of the unavailability of players,” Migne explained.

“We were lucky to score in second half. The attitude was better. This will help the confidence of our players; this will help Kenya return on football map. But now, we have a difficult game against India. We have only two days to recover but we will try to put on a good attitude.”

Meanwhile, his counterpart Fritz Schmid admitted that it was his side’s mistakes that led to their loss on the night. “What Kenya did to deserve the win was that they took our offer to score in certain crucial moments of the game,” he said.

“We took the early lead and had good grip and possession along with scoring opportunities to even close the game in the first half. But then things didn’t go as per plan.”

Schmid also admitted that the inexperience in his side made them pay and that it was a much-needed lesson for his boys. “Looking at the age of the team, we need these lessons. Even if you haven't scored, you can get your shape get back with the lead in the second half. We struggled in the latter half in physicality and that's another point we have to look at.”