India U-23 defeat Pakistan U-23 1-0 in a closely fought first match of the bilateral friendly series

The Indian players celebrate their goal on the stroke of half time

The first of the two friendlies in the bilateral series between India U-23 and Pakistan U-23 saw India secure a 1-0 victory in what was a well fought match witnessed by a very boisterous, capacity crowd of 8,346. There was also some controversy as India’s striker Robin Singh, was sent off for two bookable offenses.

Scrappy first half as India took the lead

Both the teams showed good commitment to passing football, with India lining up with a very strong side, as both Robin Singh and star striker and captain Sunil Chhetri started. The first half saw the ball staying in midfield more, with the teams striving to find the final ball. The first chance of the match fell to India, as Pronoy Halder sent a speculative shot wide. India’s forward Robin Singh played the role of target man to perfection, as he competed for balls in the air, and was always available for linking up.

He was booked on the 30 minute mark for a needless infringement and India’s next chance saw Chhetri fail to beat the goalkeeper with a weak shot, after Singh had come close. Right on the stroke of half time, India took the lead from a well executed set-piece taken by Lalrindka Ralte, which was flicked on by Robin Singh, following which the ball went in after a scramble on the far post.

The goal was initially awarded to Robin Singh, though it did look like captain Sunil Chhetri got the last touch, and the AIFF Media gave an official confirmation after the match that the goal had now been awarded to Chhetri.

The game opened up in the second half

The second half saw Indian goalkeeper Amrinder Singh being called into action immediately, as he had to pull off a great save to deny Pakistan skipper Kaleem Ullah. The game also saw tempers flaring a bit, as Kaleem Ullah was then booked for protesting vociferously when he was not awarded a foul. Soon after, India’s no 9 Robin Singh was sent off for another needless foul, and that meant that India had to play the last 20 minutes with 10 men.

Even with a man advantage, Pakistan only really started dominating in the last 10 minutes, when they had a couple of chances to score. The first chance fell to the captain Kaleem Ullah, who slipped in unmarked behind the defense in the 84th minute, but chose to shoot instead of finding an open teammate, which saw him scuffing his shot wide. That attempt lifted the visitors, who then saw Riaz shoot wide from a good position on the right.

The match could have finished level, as a cross from the right was deflected onto the cross bar by the Indian defense, and the home team then made sure they cleared their box with authority. The referee’s whistle for full time could not have come at a better time, as the Indians withstood the last minute barrage of attacks to draw first blood in the two match bilateral series.

The man of the match was awarded to Pakistan’s no 17, who exhibited some good skills, as he was a thorn in the side of the Indian defense all through the game, and impressed everyone with his skills, and touch play. The Indian U-23 team also saw some very good performances from the youngsters, especially Mandar Desai on the left flank, who showed a lot of purpose and skillful running and Narayan Das in defense.

Both teams will now go into the second game with a little more knowledge about the opposition, and will surely look to learn all they can in their preparation for the Asian Games.

Full-time: India U-23 1 Pakistan U-23 0 #IndvsPak

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) August 17, 2014