Young Blue Tigers ride on second half performance to outplay Mauritius at Nagoa
PANAJI
A 3-0 outcome in a team's favour may suggest a happy outcome, but with the opposition being considerably weak, a lot still remains to be worked upon for Team India to measure up to sterner stuff.
The preparations of the FIFA World Cup U-17 hosts may have not gone exactly as per plan, but their last international friendly against Mauritius on Thursday at Nagoa Panchayat ground gave a pre-cursor on what one could perhaps expect from the Indian colts. Their opposition may not have been really the best to take on, but that said, the inclement weather of the previous day and early morning rains made the playing conditions not conducive for the true summation in play and performance.
Luis Norton de Matos sprung up virtually different XIs either side of the break but still India stayed superior of the two outfits, exemplifying the gulf in class and skill. The core players of the provisional squad played alongside first XI hopefuls and those trying to make a final impression to make the 21-member cut in the historic World Cup squad to be announced later
in the day.
Dheeraj Singh started under the horizontal, with Hendry Antonay, Mohammed Rakip, Anwar Ali and Sanjeev Stalin manning the backline, with designated World Cup skipper Amarjit Singh Kiyam marshalling the midfield astutely with Lalengmawia, and Abhijit Sarkar as support with Komal Thatal on the left wing a constant threat into the box with Rahim Ali operating as the striker and Rahul Kannoly Praveen moving up on the right wing.
As the game progressed, India Colts increasingly sat in the opposition half with Komal in the thick of things. Abhijit, who was beginning to shape up well, seized an opportunity but was adeptly tackled by Mauritius left-back Stephane Gentil. Soon after, Komal with his creative moves tried to manoeuvre his way up to score but he was brought down by numbers, warding off the imminent danger.
Rahim sprung into action with a header but it lacked penetration. It was only around the half-hour mark that the visitors got into the game with two free kicks in quick succession but could not make further headway. As the game approached half-time, Rahul, the right winger, showcased fine skills weaving his way up but could not find space to break down the defence. With a minute added as stoppage time, a blistering strike from Stalin was saved equally brilliantly with a reflex save by Loic Michel under the Mauritian bar.
The second half brought about sweeping changes. While the lanky Dheeraj stayed in goal, Rakip and Lalengmawia held their spots too. Taking field were Boris Singh Thangjam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Ninthoiganba, Shubham Sarangi, Nongdamba Naorem, Namit Deshpande and Joysana. India colts in the session looked a more formidable disposition and the efforts became more pronounced as the half wore on.
Left-winger Nongdamba's effort lacked the punch while Ninthoi on the right wing shot wide soon after from a Shubham pass. With the home team increasingly lacking the clinical finish, Boris tried to show the way with adroit dribbles and finesse to get past four midfielders to lay the ball in the path of Shahjahan who failed to latch onto the ball to break the deadlock. In the 62nd minute, a stray attack from the other end saw Yannick Aristide on left-wing trying to find space but the industrious Boris saw off the threat.
The stalemate finally ended in the 67th minute when Shubham's cross fell into the path of Boris in front of the box and the latter made it count for the opener. Few minutes later, Ninthoi was at centre-stage with as many as three chances but he muffed up from striking distance. India meanwhile made their substitutions either side of the goal with Saurabh Meher (64') and Aniket Jadhav (76') coming in for Lalengmawia and Shubham in midfield and attack respectively.
A regular upfront, Aniket tried to immediately stamp his authority on the game. Arising from a Ninthoi pass, Aniket tried to find space to move up but was taken down on a tackle by left-back William Philbert. Meanwhile, India tried out another fringe player Sumit Rathi who came on for Rakip on the 79th minute.
A swift move few minutes later created by Ninthoi saw the ball crossed to Shahjahan who placed it in front of Saurabh, who chipped the delivery delightfully over the backline into the netting to double the home team's lead. Just before the final whistle, Aniket added his name on the scoresheet as he rolled the ball into the empty nylons from a delectable pass
from Boris.
