Indians impress in opener

But the Indian defence was caught on the wrong foot after Singapore slipped past the defence to equalise and then took the lead before the interval. In fact, the equaliser in the 24th minute had a telling effect on the team morale as India conceded yet another goal six minutes before half-time.

But India, under their English coach Stephen Constantine, regained composure and confidence to dominate the second half. India’s equaliser came in the 65th minute. K Ajayan pounced on the ball and blasted home with a powerful left-footer after Jo Paul Ancheri backheaded an overhead ball to him following a throw-in.

India’s technical director Sukhwinder Singh said from Ho Chi-Min City, “The team played as a unit although we should have finished as winners. “But considering that this a second string side, I think the boys played an excellent game. Even seniors like Baichung (Bhutia), Jo Paul (Ancheri) and Debjit (Ghosh) supported the team well.”

In another match, Vietnam, beat Indonesia 3-1.

Team: Naseem Akhtar; Mahesh Gawli, Debjit Ghosh, Deepak Mondal, Samir Naik; Jo Paul Ancheri, K Ajayan (Sasthi Duley), Shanmugam Venkatesh, Bijen Singh (Tomba Singh); Alex Ambrose (Praveen Kumar), Bhaichung Bhutia.