The Indian men’s soccer team’s first match since the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in June was fruitless as they drew 1-1 with Singapore in the Hung Thinh friendly soccer tournament at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Saturday.
India, resting experienced centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, fell behind in the 37th minute but came back strong in six minutes to level the score through Ashique Kuruniyan. While showing good form in midfield, Igor Stimac’s men made some clever moves down the flanks but could not break the shackles of the opposition defence.
After a cautious start from both teams, Singapore was the first to try their luck in the opposition goal. In the 14th minute, Ikhsan Fandi had a clear view of goal, but the ever-watchful centre-back Anwar Ali came to the rescue with a neat clearance. Fandi was clearly the most active force in almost any Singapore attack – he tried again against India 10 minutes later; this time a header, but it was not enough to beat Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
India’s first serious attack into the opposition area came in the 18th minute when they launched a combined attack that almost ended in goal. While Anirudh Thapa was perfect with a through ball, Ashique Kuruniyan was also immaculate, setting him up for Liston Colaco. The Indian striker was quick and accurate with his shot from outside the box, but opposing goalkeeper and captain Hassan Sunny made a brilliant save.
This will not be the last time Hassan has thwarted India’s near-certain goal. As India stepped up the pressure, a corner from Thapa in the 29th minute allowed Anwar to land a clear header. However, Hassan quickly grabbed the ball.
Fandi gave Singapore a slight lead in the 37th minute. When Ashique was stopped for a foul about 25 yards from the India goal, the Singapore striker’s right-footed free-kick hit the wall before crossing Sandhu’s outstretched left hand.
However, India did not waste much time before replying with an equaliser. Sahal Abdul Samad managed to intercept the ball in the middle in the 43rd minute and send it to captain Sunil Chhetri with a fine forward pass. With years of experience behind him, Chhetri quickly sent the ball through the defense which made the entire Singapore defense misstep. As the ball went to Ashique, he dashed into the box before finding the net with his left foot.
A Thapa-Ashique strike almost brought India’s second goal four minutes into the second half – Ashique fired in a powerful shot after Thapa had put the ball past him, but Hassan made a timely save.
After both teams had been fairly calm for a long time, especially Singapore, who preferred to focus more on strengthening the defence, Liston worked the left flank with some good dribbling and fired a powerful but slightly misguided shot. Singapore defense assistance.
Captain Chhetri said after the game: “There are a lot of things we could have done better. I’m sure the coach will talk to us about it. We missed a lot of chances, and maybe we could have defended better, but without being too hard on ourselves there are things we need to improve on.
“There is no apology from me regarding the weather. We were here two days ago, and I have to say the weather is a bit different here, but the weather is quite nice. The floor is good. A lot depends on how we play and we have to do better.
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