La Serena (Chile), June 17 (IANS) Argentina coach Gerardo Martino has said he is worried that his team cannot sustain their rhythm for an entire match despite watching his players beat Uruguay 1-0 in Copa America.
Sergio Aguero’s second-half header was enough to give Argentina victory over their close rivals, but there were some nervy moments in the final minutes as Uruguay came close to a late leveller. Argentina were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in their first game of the tournament after failing to protect a two-goal lead.
“What I saw basically was 70 minutes similar to the game against Paraguay,” Martino said in a press conference after the match on Tuesday.
“We had the ball, we tried to create chances, break down Uruguay’s scheme, playing between the lines and attacking on the wings. But after that we lost mobility in our passing and therefore we lost the ball.”
“It causes us a lot of harm when we don’t have control of the match. And if there is one thing to look our for it is the fact that we weren’t able to maintain our rhythm for 90 minutes in either of the games,” he said.
Uruguay forward Diego Rolan missed a glorious chance as he fired over the bar late on, while Argentina had goalkeeper Sergio Romero to thank for an important save right at the end.
“If Chiquito (Romero) hadn’t been there, we would be talking about my substitutions again,” Martino said.
“Our goalkeeper is confirming what he showed at the World Cup and he had another good game.”
The 52-year-old also praised midfielder Javier Pastore, whose superb skill helped create the goal for Aguero.
“Pastore played a very good game,” he said.
“He saw more of the ball than against Paraguay and had more continuity in his play. We have a lot of players who can cause problems.”
And he added: “Today we didn’t have as many chances as we did against Paraguay, but after Kun’s goal we could have finished it off. We had two good chances and we weren’t able to take them.
“We live by results. If I get a lucky win, it is difficult to sustain that over time, so we have to maintain a style. I want to stay here for three and a half years.”
