AFC Asian Cup 2019: 89th minute penalty shatters Indian hearts in 1-0 loss to Bahrain

India suffered heartbreak after a late goal by Jamal Rashed from the penalty spot knocked them out of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on Monday.

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India were left shell-shocked after 0-1 loss to Bahrain. (AFC Media)

India suffered heartbreak after a late goal in injury time by Bahrain’s Jamal Rashed knocked them out of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on Monday. Pronoy Halder’s moment of madness led to Rashed’s goal in the 91st minute from the penalty spot. A lot depended on the other result of the match where Thailand were playing against hosts UAE. However, that result also did not go in India’s favour as the match ended in a 1-1 draw leaving India fourth in Group A with three points.

India entered their final group game on the back of a 4-1 win over Thailand and a 0-2 loss to hosts United Arab Emirates. The Blue Tigers started off shakily after losing defender Anas Edathodika to injury as early as the second minute, but Sandesh Jhingan and his colleagues managed to stave off the Bahrain strikers until the blunder inside the box.

Throughout the match, India were on the backfoot. With Bahrain having the lion’s share of possession, the Blue Tigers defended with their lives, with Sandesh Jhingan marshalling the backline. The Indian midfield, compact, came back to help the backline, hence allowing Bahrain shots from distance. Throughout the 90 minutes, India defended doggedly before conceding.

Stephen Constantine, who resigned from his position after India’s defeat, said, “We didn’t intentionally set up for a draw. obviously Bahrain started with real energy, looking to get the early goal and as the game wore on, this is maybe a little inexperience on our side… we started defending deeper and deeper and deeper and in the end, we got punished. But I thought we were unlucky. We defended well for ninety-something minutes and as the 70th and 75th minute came on the boys thought, okay we can hold on. Bahrain were playing with six forwards and four in midfield, it was tough, but to get beaten by a penalty is harsh in anybody’s eyes.”

Bahrain converted a penalty in the 91st minute through Jamal Rashed, who made no mistake after India captain Pronay Halder brought Hamad Al Shamsan down in the box.

Expressing disappointment over the result, defender Sandesh Jhingan said, “We defended like warriors & the defeat is really hard to take. Disappointed seeing how it turned out but we can only go upwards from here. Proud of the boys and we thank the fans for their support”

“Nobody expected us to do so well and we showed that we belong here. However, football is a cruel game sometimes,” he added.

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INDIA: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Pritam Kotal, Anas Edathodika (4’ – Salam Ranjan Singh), Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose; Udanta Singh, Pronay Halder (C), Rowllin Borges, Halicharan Narzary (79’ – Anirudh Thapa), Ashique Kuruniyan (45’ – Jeje Lalpekhlua), Sunil Chhetri.