KUWAIT CITY: A spirited India were held to a 1-1 draw by Tajikistan in their first match of the 2013 AFC U-16 Qualifiers at the Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium in Kuwait City on Saturday evening.
Prosenjit Chakraborty converted from the spot in the 56th minute after Saidov Karomatullo had put Tajikistan into the lead in the 36th minute.
Represented by the All India Football Federation’s Regional Academy boys, the Indian colts took some time to settle down.
Once they did, they dominated, penetrated and forced Tajikistan to play second fiddle.
But as Head Coach Goutam Ghosh maintained at the post match press conference, “Our boys can play better.”
He added, “We played very well in the second half and created a lot of opportunities from which we could score. But this was our first match and we will try to rectify on our mistakes.”
It was the first match of the AFC Championship and the first international match for the boys, but they were not overawed by the occasion.
Down by a first-half goal the boys came back strongly, forcing one to ponder as to why they couldn’t garner full points.
Post the Tajikistan goal which was pushed in by Saidov off a melee following a corner, it was all India in the remaining part of the first half and the first 25 minutes of the second half.
But Tajikistan managed to hold on. Add to that rival Goalkeeper Khayriev Behruz’s reflexes, India were forced to split points.
The turnaround started from the 37th minute. India’s sudden burst unsettled the sturdy Tajik boys, who until the 36th minute looked a bit more in control than the Indians.
In the 44th minute, Anirudh Thapa’s touch off a Jerry Lalrinzuala free-kick hit the post and went wide.
A series of corners followed. But the ball wasn’t just destined to go in. It was the right impetus which India needed prior to the interval. (PTI)
