India lost their final FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Turkmenistan 2-1, after the visitors completed a remarkable comeback to score two second half goals and win the match.
The match in itself was already an inconsequential one, as the positions of both the teams in the group had been decided from before. While Turkmenistan were destined to finish third in Group D, the Indians were rooted to the spot, regardless of the result of the match. However, the two sides were still battling for pride at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Tuesday night.
Indian defender Sandesh Jhingan had put the Blue Tigers into the lead with a 26th minute header, much to the delight of the home fans. However, Turkmenistan slowly clawed their way back into the game, with goals from Arslanmyrat Amanow (48th minute) and second half substitute Serdarali Atayew.
The visitors had gotten off to a decent start launching a flurry of attacks on the Indian penalty area. The Blue Tigers, lead by Mohun Bagan striker Jeje Lalpekhlua in the absence of captain Sunil Chhetri, were also launching their own attacks in the early exchanges.
Howevver, a sudden counter from Turkmenistan saw right back Pritam Kotal bringing down Arslan Amanow inside the box, in an attempt to stop a swift move. The referee immediately pointed to the spot, as Amanow stepped up to take the spot kick. The 26-year-old forward looked unsteady in his run-up to the penalty, as India custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu dive the right way. However, Amanow’s shot was too far wide of the target to trouble the Stabaek goalie.
India would soon go on to punish Turkmenistan for this error, as centreback Sandesh Jhingan’s header from a Narayan Das free kick thundered in off the bar. This gave India some impetus, as they looked in control for the rest of the first half, in spite of the fact that Turkmenistan had the higher possession. Turkmenistan manager Amangylyç Goçumow immediately responded in the second half by bringing on Atayew, who immediately signaled to his teammates to loft the aerial balls into the box.
This tactic worked wonders as Turkmenistan restored parity immediately after the restart, as Amanow turned in a cross from Didar Durdiyew on the far post. Mohun Bagan fullback Pritam Kotal was the guilty party yet again, as he let the visitors’s captain roam around freely on the far post.
With the match increasingly looking like it would end as a draw, substitute Serdarali put the visitors into the lead on the 70th minute, as he calmly dummied India keeper Sandhu, and slotted a low shot into the goal. Serdarali’s low shot fooled everyone, including Jhingan, who was standing on the goalline, in an attempt to clear the Turkmenistan substitute’s effort.
India manager Stephen Constantine tried to pile on the pressure by bringing on Holicharan Narzary and Seityasen Singh, but none of his tactics worked, with the players getting increasingly tired as the match wore on. Interestingly, India’s star striker and captain Sunil Chhetri was left on the bench despite the fact that he was fit to play for 15-20 minutes in the game.
Image Courtesy: AIFF Media
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