India win, despite missed chances

For once, the attention shifted from Indian superstar Bhaichung Bhutia and on to the collective effort of Alvito Da Cunha, Biswas, Sameer Naik, Deepak Mondol and in the second half, goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee. hat impressed was Alvito’s control of the midfield and regular feeding of the forwards, Ashim who matched and often outshone Bhaichung up front, Naik’s wonderful wing play and Mondol for the solidity in the centre of the defence. And Mukherjee rising to the occasion when it mattered most for the best part of the second half.

With the Singapore midfield failing to cope with the superior speed of their Indian counterparts and relying more on short passes which were intercepted more often than not, it wasn’t difficult for the Indians to dominate. Which meant that Bhaichung and Biswas were supplied regularly. And had it not been for some uncharacteristic lapses on the part of the Indian skipper, which included a shot over the crosspiece after an Alvito corner found him unmarked inside the box, the score might have been different.

That was, however, just one of the really clear chances missed. Many more half chances went abegging as Renedy, Alvito (twice), Bhaichung and Biswas failed to exploit the scrappy Singapore defending.

The goal came in the 49th minute, but even before that, especially in the last 15 minutes of the first half, India got at least three clear chances to get off the mark and go into the Singapore leg on stronger footing. First, an Alvito-Bhaichung-Biswas foray saw the ball ballooning over the bar. Then Alvito sent a scorcher of a piledriver from outside the box that beat the keeper but found the crosspiece. And finally, resistance came in the form of goalkeeper Abdullah after medio Climax Lawrence had sent in a strong right-footer. After the goal, the Indian raids continued but to no tangible end. In the meantime, Singapore chose to send half their side up near the Indian goal and that’s when Sangram came up with a series of solid saves.

India coach Stephen Constantine praised the spirit showed by his boys today and thanked the crowd for the overwhelming support. ‘‘It is a pretty good start and our boys should get prepared against tough opponents Oman in the home match on March 31 at Kochi,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Singapore coach Radojko Avramovic blamed the referee for awarding the penalty, which he thought was overreaction on Biswas’s part, but said he was hoping the team to put up a better show in its next match. ‘‘We have to face the reality and hope the team fair better in the home match against Japan next,’’ he said.