India's football coach Bob Houghton lamented that India could not maintain a high level of play for the whole duration of their match against Saudi Arabia, which allowed the hosts to thrash them 7-1 in their AFC Asian Cup qualifying encounter.

"We went head-to-head with the Saudis for the first half hour but after they scored the second goal they totally dominated the match," the Englishman said after Wednesday's game in Jeddah.

India took a surprise lead through defender N S Manju in the 22nd minute but the Saudis quickly equalised and went up by a goal before half-time.

The hosts came out all guns blazing in the second half and found the back of the Indian net five times to pummel the hosts into submission.

Houghton, who took China to the World Cup finals in 1998, was in no illusion about the quality of the opposition he faced in the tough Group 'A' of the qualification campaign.

"This was a very tough group for us because we had to face two of the strongest teams in Asia."

India lost to Saudi Arabia 0-3 in Kolkata last month and next face Asian champions Japan [Images] in Bangalore on October 11.

They had lost 0-6 at Yokohama in the opening match of their qualifying round.

"Japan and Saudi Arabia are about equal. The Japanese are good in the box and they have good movement around the pitch while the Saudis are stronger in terms of fitness and concentration," Houghton said.

Houghton also noted that Marcos Pacqueta's side had improved their play considerably since the World Cup in Germany [Images], where they were eliminated in the first round itself with two losses and a draw.

"After watching the Saudi Arabia versus Japan match (on September 3), I told some of my friends that if they had played the same during the World Cup then they might have achieved something.

"Apart from their other qualities, their determination was also one of the factors that helped them win their match against Japan," Houghton observed.

Pacqueta said that Manju's early goal acted as a wake up call for his team.

The victory helped the hosts seal a spot in the finals, to be held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam next year.

"It was a positive thing for my team when the Indian team scored first, because afterwards my players came to appreciate the importance of the game," the Brazilian said.

"The most important thing is that we achieved the three points that secured qualification to the finals.

"I admit that we gave a poor show in the first half but the players regained their concentration in the second and we played very well," he said.

"It was a tough game for us because we only had a short time between this match and our last match against Japan on Sunday. Also the temperature (38 degrees Celsius) did not help both teams."

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