|
India ended their wait for a win at Kochi, edging past Hong Kong 2-1 to end the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers final round Group C campaign on a high at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
Early strikes from debutant Ryan Williams and left-back Akash Mishra in either half ensured the Blue Tigers secure their first win of the qualifying campaign. India ended their campaign on five points, with a win, two draws and three losses. Singapore topped the group with 14 points to seal qualification for the Asian Cup, as per a press release. Head Coach Khalid Jamil handed a much-awaited debut to Ryan Williams, while Bijoy Varghese also made his first India appearance off the bench. India made a perfect start to the game, with Ryan Williams marking his debut with a goal in the fourth minute. A swift transition down the right flank saw a well-timed pass by Abhishek Singh Tekcham release Manvir Singh, who squared the ball for Williams to tap it in past the goalkeeper and open the scoring. It was also the fastest goal scored by a debutant for India, surpassing the previous record of sixth-minute strikes by K Appalaraju against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in a pre-Olympics match in Colombo in 1963 and Mehtab Hossain against Nepal in the 2005 SAFF Cup in Karachi. The home side played with confidence after taking the lead, enjoying the majority of possession and looking assured on the ball and dictating the tempo. Manvir Singh then delivered a searching cross towards Lallianzuala Chhangte inside the box, but a Hong Kong defender did well to clear the danger. The Indian defence denied Hong Kong's attackers any space in their own half with four to five blue shirts surrounding the attackers whenever a chance opened up. The defence were always behind the ball whenever the visitors showed any glimpse of promise in their attacks. India looked dangerous in counter attacks whenever there was an opportunity. Williams received the ball from midfield and passed it to Manvir on the right and the forward flicked it to Chhangte on the first touch. The winger then let a shot with his weaker right foot but Hong Kong defender Shinichi Chan did well to block it and concede a corner. Apuia came close to doubling the advantage at the 25th-minute mark. The midfielder was at the end of a swift counter-attack, with Manvir Singh and Ryan Williams combining well down the left, but his right-footed effort from distance drifted just wide of the post. At the other end, Hong Kong looked to build patiently, working the ball into wide areas and delivering crosses into the box, but the Indian defence dealt with them comfortably to ensure they went into the break with their one-goal lead intact. The Blue Tigers began the second half just as brightly as the first. Rahul Bheke's long throw was not cleared by the opposition defence. As the ball bobbled inside the box, Akash Mishra reacted quickest at the near post, rifling a right-footed effort from a tight angle past the goalkeeper for his first international goal and double India's lead. India's defence was breached just after the hour mark as Braunshtain Barak found space between Sandesh Jhingan and Rahul Bheke to slip a pass through to Everton Camargo. The forward timed his run perfectly, got to the ball ahead of the defenders and finished past Gurpreet to halve the deficit. (ANI)
|
