India open AFC U19 qualifiers campaign on a disastrous note

by Chittu Shetty November 5, 2017

A Lacklustre Indian U-19 National Team lost 0-5 to hosts Saudi Arabia in their opening match of Group D of the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers.

In an uninspiring performance, Indian colts looked totally out of place as they were completely outclassed by the host. One of the brightest spots of India U17 world team Dheeraj Singh had a forgettable night as silly defensive lapses gave the host a coasting win.

India started out slow as Saudi looked to take early advantage. Dheeraj was called into action as early as the 9th minute when he thwarted a Saudi attack from the flanks. A minute later, the hosts could have taken the lead but Saudi striker failed to find the net after rounding up Dheeraj.

The pressure soon got to India as they conceded the lead in a poor fashion. After collecting the ball at the edge of the box, Dheeraj quickly passed to Anwar Ali, who was easily robbed of the ball by Abdullah Alhamaddan, before slotting off the opener. Despite looking for equaliser with some good move, Saudi defence held on as half-time approached.

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However the second half started on a bad note as in the 50th minute, Saudi Arabia doubled their lead when Feras Albrikan rounded off Dheeraj Singh who was way off his line and scored to make it 2-0. The Indian U-19s attempted to pull one back with Coach Matos introducing Edmund and Amarjit Singh to spice up things, however nothing much transpired in the attacking front.

Soon the performance of the team went from bad to worse as Saudi scored again in the 75th minute to seal the match after Al-Shahrani blasted the ball into the net, capitalizing on mix-up inside the Indian box. Soon it became 4-0 after another defensive lapse allowed Al Brikan to score in the open goal. Five minutes later, Al Brikan made it 5-0 after a 2 on 1 situation against the Indian keeper.

India next face Yemen on November 06, 2017 before clashing with Turkmenistan on November 08.

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