AFC U16 Championship: India beat Vietnam by 1-0
Vikram Singh’s
86th-minute penalty led the India U-16 Boys’ National Team to a 1-0 win over
Vietnam in their first match of the Group Stage at the UM Arena in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia today (September 21, 2018).
In a match where India
dominated possession and had as many as four clear goals scoring chances,
Vikram Singh’s late strike from the spot led the Blue Colts to a deserved win
over the opponents.
The Indian U-16 Colts
could have taken the lead as early as the 8th minute when Vikram Singh was
found inside the box after Gurkirat found him with a long ball. Vikram’s shot
from inside the box after latching onto the ball with ease, went inches past
the goal though.
Ricky Shabong, in the
17th minute, tried to open the goal scoring tally for India but his shot went
wide of the goal after Vikram had pulled a ball back from the midfielder.
Vietnam, however, initiated their own counter-attacks frequently, but the
Indian defence paired with Niraj Kumar’s goalkeeping held them at bay.
India U-16 girls lost against the hosts Mongolia
India U-16 girls lost against the hosts Mongolia
With India dominating
proceedings, Gurkirat Singh attempted a shot from distance that was saved by
the opposition custodian on the 25th, and the 35th minute, India cajoled
another excellent opportunity. Ravi’s cross found Vikram in the box, but from a
tight angle, Vikram’s attempted shot went over the bar.
Vietnam almost fell prey
to a howler in the 40th minute when an attempted pass back to the custodian was
intercepted by Ravi’s incessant pressing. The Vietnamese goalkeeper timed his
sliding tackle to perfection to deny Ravi’s efforts.
The half-time scoreline
read 0-0 as both teams went into the tunnel on level terms.
Changing over, India’s
attempt from a corner kick touched the cross-bar and went out as the Colts
upped the ante, in an attempt to take the lead. Eight minutes later, Bekey
Oram’s shot went over the bar.
Coach Bibiano made his
first change of the match in the 61st minute and introduced Lalchhanhmia Sailo
in place of Ricky Shabong and the substitute was quick to make his mark, albeit
shooting wide of target, a minute later.
In the 66th minute,
substitute Sailo broke free of the Vietnamese defence and found himself face to
face with the opposition custodian. However, he failed to find the back of the
net and forced the goalkeeper into a decent save from close range.
Vikram was brought down
in the 83rd minute inside the box and India were awarded a penalty kick. The
skipper found the back of the net in the 86th minute to break the deadlock and
give India the crucial lead.
The full-time scoreline
read 1-0 as the Indian U-16s registered their first win of the group stage.
They face the mighty Iran next on Monday, September 24, 2018.
India U-16’s starting XI
against Vietnam: Niraj Kumar; Shabas Ahamed, Thoiba Singh, Bikash Yumnam,
Gurkirat Singh; Ricky Shabong (61’ – Lalchhanhima Sailo), Givson Singh, Ravi
Rana (76’ – Bhuvnesh Shendre), Bekey Oram, Vikram Singh (C), Ridge De’Mello.