India beat Pakistan in a hard-fought international friendly
Pakistan's Ahsanullah (left) and Robin Singh of India vie for the ball during their international friendly in Bengaluru on Sunday. The hosts won 1-0. (Photo: R. Samuel)
Bengaluru: The Indian football team were off to a positive start in their build-up for the upcoming Asian Games, with a 1-0 win over Pakistan in a hard-fought international friendly at a packed Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday.
Taking a cue from their past encounters, both teams put up an aggressive performance with flaring tempers and hard challenges. India captain Sunil Chhetri got the vital goal when he got the last touch off a Robin Singh flick just before half time. India were reduced to 10 men in the 69th minute when Robin received his marching orders.
Pakistan were the more dominant of the two in the early stages with fast movements and interplay being the highlights of their attackline, that caused problems for the Indian defence.
The hosts gradually made their mark, as they slowed down the pace of the game and almost broke the opposition defence on numerous occasions, but for the offside flag.
India had their first clear chance when some clever play from the left saw Robin behind the defence in the 28th minute. The tall striker’s cross was directed towards the goal by Lalrindka Ralte but Pakistan goalkeeper Muzammil Hussain produced a stunning save to keep the sides level.
Chhetri broke the deadlock in the 45th minute. Robin rose the highest to flick the ball towards the near post from a Ralte corner kick and the Indian captain guided the ball into the net with the slightest of touches.
In the second half, Pakistan began in a strong manner before Chhetri and Robin combined well to keep the opponents at bay.
Robin collected his second yellow card for a needless elbow on Ahsanullah, he was cautioned in the first half for a foul on the same player only to head back to the dressing room.
Despite being down to 10 men, India continued to attack and were caught on the break with Kaleem Ullah and Muhammad Riaz firing wide from good positions.
Pakistan stepped up the pressure and almost found the net in injury time. India coach Wim Koevermans and his Pakistan counterpart Muhammad Shamlan Al-Mubarak were pleased with their team’s performances.
( Source : dc )
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