New Delhi, Aug 19 - India coach Bob Houghton blamed Ambedkar Stadium turf for the defending champions' 0-1 loss to Lebanon in the ONGC Nehru Cup opener here Wednesday.

India conceded an early goal in the fourth minute off a Ali Al Saad free-kick. Houghton pointed out that due to the tall grass in the stadium the ball lost its pace, making it difficult to build the moves.

'I was surprised that the organisers didn't cut the grass. It is an international standard everywhere. It was difficult to score field goals on such a turf because the passing game was not possible. On such a ground you can only score from set-pieces and Lebanon were lucky,' Houghton said.

The Englishman said the early goal proved a set-back for India but praised his players for putting up an impressive performance in the second half.

'Except the early goal, we created more opportunities. And we were the better team in the second half,' he said.