AFC U-16 Championship: India start bright but lose to a fiesty UAE; evoke hope for the future
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED competitive home debut of the Indian team meant for FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 took place tonight in their first AFC U-16 Championship group stage game, and the display the boys put on was promising despite losing to United Arab Emirates by a 2-3 margin.
Placed in an unusually tough group along with UAE, Iran and Saudi Arabia, India went into the tournament as the group underdogs. But there was no sign of pressure, anxiety or holding back from the team when they started the game in a rain-soaked Fatorda.
The first few minutes saw the home team push ahead with a string of attacks led by Komal Thatal who took a couple of cracks at the UAE goal. The opponents seemed taken aback by such an emphatic start by a perceived underdog side and before they could get their act together India had drawn first blood.
A free kick at an angle a few yards outside the penalty box saw India press all their players forward, and defender Sanjeev Stalin stepped up to do the honours. He delivered a deceptively lofted curler that was high enough to leave the UAE defenders rooted to their spot, and swung right out of keeper Alhareth Salem's reach to kiss the net. The 2,000-odd spectators present in the stadium cheered vicariously; India were ahead just 12 minutes in.
By now, India were fully dominating the game, through their superior running and ball control in the midfield. UAE tried to mitigate the situation with long balls, trying to utilize their height advantage, but it didn't seem to be working. They earned a couple of corners but didn't create chances.
Aman Chetri of India ran into the UAE box with a defender in tow, but after an initial fight for the ball couldn't find Komam who had run up and was in a scoring position. The chance went begging.
But after the half hour mark Indian keeper Dhheraj Singh Moirangtem committed a foul and a penaty was awarded to UAE. But the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Although moments later ended up conceding a scrappy goal when he fumbled on an incoming high ball and Manea Aydh got a lucky touch that went into the net. It was 1-1.
But a minute later India had struck again. A brilliant piledriver from Boris Singh Thangjam found the target and put India back ahead. At half-time, the hosts had a solid control over the game, leading 2-1.
But UAE came back into the second half as a team that had re-grouped and worked out a better strategy. The attacks began early on, and for the first time in the game the pressure was telling on the Indian defence. And this is when all the flaws came out.
The visitors got a couple of corners. Then Majid Rashid, the UAE captain, ran into the Indian box with a teammate as a loose ball caught the Indian defenders off guard. He finished and there was not much Dheeraj could do about it. It was 2-2.
But the intensity with which India had started the game was no longer there. Fatigue was setting in and UAE players were outrunning them. Soon enough, after a couple of wide free kicks wasted chances, India conceded their third goal. It was Ahmad Fawzi who fooled two Indian defenders and slotted the ball into the net. The visitors had fought back from behind and taken the lead. It was 2-3.
And that's how it stayed till the end of the game, although the Indian players did not let go and went toe to toe with their opponents till the final whistle.
Earlier, in another Group A match, Iran had beaten Saudi Arabia 3-2. India lost to UAE by the same margin. It does seem tough for the Boys in Blue to recover from this and get positive results from matches against the other two tough opponents to make it into the knockout stage, but the spirited performance that the team had put up does evoke a sense of hope about the future. They could have won the match had a couple of touch-and-go situations gone their way. And they still have a year to prepare for the FIFA World Cup, so who knows what shape they will be in by then.
