Second half strikes from Skipper Amarjit Singh (74’), Abhishek Halder (80’) and Edmund (90+2) proved to be the difference between the two sides in a match largely dominated by the Indian colts.

India started off aggressively as the young colts dominated possession in the final third creating few close chances. The big chance came in the 13th minute when Rahim Ali’s rasping shot from inside the box got blocked by the Turkmenistan’s defence before rolling towards their custodian for an easy save. Seven minutes later, Ali was at it again, however this time as well his shot was saved by the opposition custodian.

India continued domination and came close to opening the lead when in the 26th minute, Amarjit set up Nongdamba Naorem whose shot from outside the box went inches wide of the goal. Despite the domination in the first half, both teams went into the tunnel on level pegging as the score read 0-0.

The second half began with the same vigour for Indians and in the 51st minute it almost paid off when Boris Singh, after playing a one-two with Abhishek Halder, got clear on to goal only shoot wide of the post. However at the other end against the run of play Turkmenistan almost took the lead but the final shot rattled the crossbar. Two minutes later on the other end of play, Anwar Ali’s powerful header off a Sanjeev Stalin corner went inches over the crossbar.

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An end to end game began as soon Dheeraj was called in to action, as the custodian pulled off a spectacular save to keep Turkmenistan from scoring after Anwar Ali had lost his marking player. However, just when it looked like Turkmenistan is beginning to control the game, India came back with a goal. In the 74th minute, India took the lead after Amarjit Singh blasted the ball home to make it 1-0.

Five minutes later Abhishek Halder doubled the lead after he tapped the ball into an empty net following an accurate cross from the right flank. Turkmenistan looked to go all out attack in the final moments of the game. The move eventually gave India its third goal as Edmund converted a counter-attacking move to finish the game at 3-0

The game ended with India earning four points in three matches of their AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers with a third place finish in the group D and out of the qualifications race.

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With a huge 0-5 loss against Saudi Arabia and 0-0 draw with Yemen India U19s AFC qualifiers journey seemed to be on death bed as a win against Turks won’t be counted for being the fourth team in the group.

How do you reflect on India’s performance against Yemen?

It was a good performance against Yemen and it could have been perfect if we had got the win. We have to take our chances in the final third and score goals. We had three to four clear goal-scoring opportunities against Yemen and if we could have taken them we would have been deserved winners. We need to buckle up and be clinical in front of goal.

What was the strategy against Yemen?

We wanted to dominate Yemen in the midfield and we were able to achieve that. The players gave a good fight to the Yemen midfield and were also able to create goal scoring opportunities for our forwards. In defence, we stayed strong and played as a single unit which helped us to keep Yemen at bay.

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Turkmenistan lost 0-1 against Saudi Arabia. What are you expecting from Turkmenistan tomorrow?

Turkmenistan are an aggressive team going forward and they have lost both their matches so far. They will be playing for a win for their pride and we will be doing the same. We will be playing for a win and looking to end the qualifiers on a positive note. However, we still need to stay focused and concentrate on the pitch as Turkmenistan proved (with their 0-1 loss against Saudi Arabia) that they are not an easy team to play against. They will give us a very hard fight till the end.

How will you sum up India’s campaign so far?

We are building a team for the future and if you look, against Yemen, 9 U-17 players played and dominated at certain spells of the game. Imagine the potential that this team will have in the next two years. There is a long way to go, however, we need to believe that the results will not be visible immediately but will take some time to show. We need to believe in the process of developing players.

– Courtesy AIFF Media

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It was all Yemen in the first ten minutes of the match as India’s opponents dominated possession and kept threatening the Indian box. The Indian defence line however dealt with most of the danger, whilst Dheeraj Singh’s safe hand kept Yemen at bay. The young Colts grew in the match and in the 14th minute, Boris Singh beat his marking defender to run onto a vacant flank, only for his cross to go aloof of Rahim Ali’s head.

Four minutes later, Rahim Ali set up a shot for Amarjit from outside the box, but the latter could only shoot wide of the goal. In the 29th minute, Rahim Ali switched play and found Ninthoi on the flank, who released a pass for an onrushing Suresh Singh. Suresh, from outside the box, failed to test the Yemen custodian as the ball flew over the bar.

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Both teams defensive lines did a pretty good job as the half-time score line read 0-0. India had a glorious opportunity to take the lead early in the second half when Rahim Ali was released onto goal. With only the Yemen cutsodian to beat from a tight angle, Rahim Ali shot straight at the goalkeeper resulting in an easy save in the 46th minute.

Four minites later it was Abhishek Haldar’s attempt from inside the box that went inches past the goal after Suresh had found him with an inch perfect cross from the wings. In the 55th minute, Dheeraj Singh was called into action and the custodian did not disappoint as he made an acrobatic save to keep out Yemen.

India held the Yemen attacks at bay whilst started to dominate possession. Chances however became rare for both the teams as the end-to-end tempo resulted in neither getting a clear attempt at goal. At the end of time, nothing could separate the two teams as the full-time score line read 0-0.

With the draw India open its first point of the qualifiers campaign and are now set to face Turkmenistan in the final must win game on 8^th November.

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