India fall at home stretch again

ABU DHABI, NOVEMBER 26: India gave a superb display of their fighting ability but that was not good enough as they went down 2-3 to favou...

ABU DHABI, NOVEMBER 26: India gave a superb display of their fighting ability but that was not good enough as they went down 2-3 to favourites Uzbekistan in a thrilling encounter in the Group Three Asia Cup qualifiers at the Al Ain Stadium here.

India led 2-1 in last night’s game when the game was 15 minutes away from the final whistle but Uzbekistan struck two fine goals in the dying moments to remain on top in the championship.

The Indian players fell to the ground in despair when the match ended as they lost the tie in the last few minutes for the second successive time. They had lost to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday in a similar fashion, having led 1-0 at the breather.

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The Indians scored their first goal through Jo Paul Ancheri in the 16th minute. However, Uzbekistan’s Shaukhrajton Rahmonkulov slotted in the equaliser in the 18th minute. The two teams were tied 1-1 at half time.

Ten minutes into the second half, popular striker and skipper IM Vijayan cleverly lobbed the ball behind thetall Uzbek goalkeeper Safonov Evgene to give India the lead..

Under intense pressure from the Indians, the Uzbeks created some fine openings before Fyodorov Andrey restored parity for his team through a goal in the final stages.

Left half Shirshov Nikolay hit the third goal for Uzbekistan a little before the final whistle much to the relief of his teammates and coach Rahimov Mahmood.

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Despite losing the match, the Indians gave a good account of themselves. Bijen Singh was outstanding for India both in speed and ball control and along with Vijayan and Ancheri caused panic in the Uzbek defence from time to time. His brilliant display earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

India now take on Sri Lanka in their next tie tomorrow and face Bangladesh in their last outing on Monday.

In another match, SAF Games champions Bangladesh, came back from a goal deficit to assert their supremacy with a 3-1 win over Sri Lanka. Mijanur Rahman (37th, Mohammad Rahman (62-penalty) and Faysal Ahmed (64) scored for thewinners after fuad (34th min) had put Sri Lanka in the lead.

UNITED NEWS OF INDIA