India lived dangerously in the final minutes but hung on to a solitary goal by substitute Abdul Hakim to beat Pakistan 1-0 in the second match of Indo-Pak football series here late on Thursday.After failing to capitalize on two certain scoring opportunities in the second half, an unmarked Abdul Hakeem headed an exquisitely timed cross from skipper Shanmugam Venkatesh to score the winner in the 67th minute. The win also put India 1-0 ahead in the three-match series after both the teams split honours in the first game at Quetta.India should have doubled the lead eight minutes later but Surajit Bose was controversially declared off-side after Sunil Chettri found the net from Pakistan captain Jaffar Khan’s rebound who had an untidy match under the bar.Pakistan retaliated through Mohammad Essa and Arif Mahmood and launched a series of counter attacks but the Indian defence managed to hold their nerve to maintain the slender lead.The first-half saw both teams struggling to control the mid-field. There were a few individual moves but not a single planned move was produced by either team.India got their first real chance just the second half began when a scramble in the box provided Climax Lawrence an opportunity but the shot the ball too wide. A little later, Jaffar Khan failed to gather an easy lob but Venkatesh could not deliver the killer blow. However, the Indian skipper soon made amends when his solo run from the left drew the entire Pakistan defence, leaving an unmarked Hakeem to score. — PTI
