National Team Coach Mohan celebrates win and team effort

National football team coach Mohamed Shiyaz (Mohan) has said that while the 3-0 victory against Sri Lanka is of importance, what he valued more was the team effort displayed on the field.

Yesterday's match was Head Coach Mohan's first national game. In the first of two games Maldives is to play against Sri Lanka in the South Asian Super Cup, Maldives has won 3-0.

During the post-game interview, Mohan said that he is quite pleased with the results of the match and even more so with the team's efforts. He stated that even though they won the first game, it is not an easy task to play against Sri Lanka. However, they were able to secure that victory due to the hard work Maldives displayed on the field.

"Even though we won 3-0, it wasn't an easy match. It was quite a difficult one. Sri Lanka played very well," said Mohan.

"However, our players worked very hard, which is the most important factor. Even before the game I told the players that the result isn't what was important to me."

He said that he had told the players beforehand that no matter what the result was, he would be happy if they had played hard and well.

"Our players have displayed effort of the highest order on that pitch. And we won the game as well, grace be to the highest," said Mohan.

Sri Lanka had initially worked to bring together four national teams for the South Asian Super Cup. However, some of the teams that Sri Lanka sent the invitation to were unable to attend. Maldives had already accepted to partake in the tournament and had said that the national team would fly to Sri Lanka.

As Maldives had accepted the invitation, Sri Lanka decided that they would play two games against Maldives, with the results from both games deciding who would win the cup. The second match will be held this coming Tuesday.

As Sri Lankan newspapers had stated that Maldives has inched ever so close to the cup with their win, Mohan said that they are to forget about the win immediately and that the upcoming match is what is important.

He said that he does not want to consider the results of the first match when going into the second.

"What is important right now is the upcoming match," said Mohan.

"If we are to proceed to the second match, we won't count the first."

He also said that the team will focus entirely on the upcoming match.