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India suffered a fifth consecutive defeat in the FIFA 2018 world cup qualifiers 3-0 against Oman in Muscat on Tuesday. Abdul scored a brace and Ahmed Mubarak chipped in with the opener as Oman swept aside a hapless Indian side in their Group D encounter. India have now lost all their matches in the group so far and sit at the bottom of the table.
The Indian team were never in the game as Oman controlled the match right from the start. India rarely ventured into the opposition half as Oman kept almost all of the action limited to the Indian half. India were successful in keeping it scoreless until half-time thanks largely to an inspiring performance from goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. But the relentless pressure from Oman was too much to handle for the lacklustre Indian defence who eventually shipped in three goals in the second half.
Squads
Oman: Ali Al Habsi, Al Musalami, Al Balushi, Ibrahim, Al Farsi, Said, Suhail, Mubarak, Al Mukhaini, Al-Busaidi, Amad Al-Hosni.
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rino, Sandesh Jinghan, Arnab Mondal, Narayan Das, Francis, Cavin Lobo, Rowlin Borges, Bikash Jairu, Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua.
First half
India started the match with five changes to the squad which lost 2-1 to Turkmenistan last week. Oman, who are ranked 102, 65 places above India in the FIFA world rankings started the match brightly controlling the tempo and dictating the play. They had their first shot on target in the 11th minute when Al-Hosni directed his header straight at Indian stopper Gurpreet Sandhu.
India struggled to get out of their own half as Oman kept the pressure high on the Indian defence. A rare venture into the Oman half in the 18th minute resulted in an offside against striker Jeje Lalpekhlua. Oman had a penalty call turned away in the 20th minute.
Oman hit the woodwork when Al-Balushi headed a cross from the right in the 23rd minute. Sandhu produced a fine save to keep out Al Farsi’s attempt from just inside the box in the 25th minute as Oman piled on the pressure. India’s best and only chance came in the 40th minute when they broke well after an Oman attack and Chhetri had his shot from outside the penalty area tipped over brilliantly by Oman goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.
Defender Al Mukhaini was brandished a yellow card by the referee in the 41st minute when he got involved with an altercation with the Indians after the latter protested a dangerous looking challenge on goalkeeper Sandhu.
Mubarak had his shot from outside the box deflected away for a corner off Lobo in the 44th minute as India just about managed to keep the scores level as the players walked off for the half-time break. India produced a gritty defensive display, but Oman were guilty of being wasteful in the final third.
Second half
Sehnaj Singh replaced Rowlin Borges at the start of the second half for India. Oman started the match on the offensive as in the first half with an early corner. The impressive Sandhu was again on hand to thwart Oman’s attempt after a mistake from Jhingan presented them with an opportunity in the 50th minute. If it wasn’t for Sandhu, Oman would have been 3 or 4 goals to the good.
India had a penalty call turned away as Jeje was brought down in the box, but the referee waved away the protests claiming a fair tackle. Oman’s relentless pressure finally paid off in the 55th minute when Ahmed Mubarak opened the scoring to make it 1-0. Sandhu could do nothing about that effort from Mubarak.
Oman did not let up after taking the lead as Al Farsi saw his effort go just wide off the target in the 66th minute. However, Abdul doubled Oman’s lead in the 67th minute with a well-taken finish to deal a severe blow on the Indians.
The Indian manager brought on Robin Singh in the place of Cavin Lobo in the 70th minute to provide some attacking threat to a hapless Indian attack. But they failed to stop Oman from bossing the possession and attacking at will.
Oman deservedly added a third goal in the 84th minute when Abdul scored his second of the match to kill off any hope the Indians had of making a comeback. India failed to capitalise on a great opportunity in the form of a free kick at a dangerous position towards the end of the half summing up their dismal performance throughout the match.
