India booked their place in the second phase of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification in emphatic fashion. The Blue Tigers, after an initial hiccup, came roaring back as they pummelled Laos 6-1 at Guwahati to book their place in the final 40 of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, winning the tie 7-1 on aggregate.
The crowd at the Indira Gandhi Stadium witnessed, what can be said to be arguably the finest half of football as India put four past a hapless Laos defence.
As India romp home to their biggest ever since 2007, we look at the five biggest points of the game.
#1 A great start from the visitors
India got off to the worst start possible when they conceded in the 16th minute when Khonesavanh Sihavong rifled Laos back into the tie. It was not only conceding the goal, but also the way they conceded it. The visitors dominated play to begin with and looked especially ominous on the counter. After scaring the hosts a number of times with their slick play at the beginning stages of the game, they finally took the lead in the game as another pacy counter from down the right left the Indian defence wanting.
After Khantavong beat Rino Anto, his cross found Sihavong in the box. The Laos number seven had the time to take a touch, compose himself and slot it past Gurpreet Singh at his near post. With Laos rampaging down the flanks, it looked more than likely that they could score even more.
#2 Inspired substitution changes the game
Stephen Constantine should be praised for taking the bull by the horn and not sitting back as India absorbed wave after wave of Laos attacks. The Englishman took the bold decision of taking off Udanta Singh who look fervent in the early goings-on but seemed too intent on doing it all himself.
With India looking clueless and particularly overwhelmed at the middle of the park, the introduction of Jackichand Singh in the 41st minute seemed like an innocuous one, but it paid dividends within two minutes of his introduction. With nearly his first touch of the game, Jackichand fired in a cross from the right wing which found Jeje Lalpekhlua, who made no mistake in scoring his second goal of the tie.
Jackichand’s energy and perseverance seemed to have rubbed off on his teammates as India suddenly started looking dangerous with every attack. One minute into first half injury time, Jackichand again vindicated Constantine’s move as he popped up on the left this time, to rifle across a low cross into the box as which Sumit Passi tapped in with glee for a goal on his debut.
India never looked back from there.
#3 Jeje continues his brilliant form
Jeje Lalpekhlua has looked like a man reborn this season and he continued in the same vein in this game. The man from Mizoram had previously given India a crucial lead in the opening leg of the tie and was again ‘Johny on the spot’ adding a couple more to his ever increasing international goal count.
The Mohun Bagan striker was on hand to first drag the Indian team back level and then in the second half made no mistake when he got on the end of a brilliant through ball from the Indian captain Sunil Chhetri. Jeje, who plies his trade for Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League is currently the reigning Indian footballer of the year and he showed us why.
This season has been a shot in the arm for Jeje, who is currently the highest Indian goalscorer in AFC Cup history. He also made history last month when he became the highest ever goalscorer in a single edition of the Federation Cup as he led Mohun Bagan to victory in the competition.
#4 A brilliant performance from the “reserves”
While the Indian team did eke out a 1-0 win over Laos in the first leg, they hardly impressed anyone with their play. However, many pointed to the Indian team’s long list of absentees due to injuries. The Blue Tigers came into the tie missing many of its regulars, with as many as 11 players who were capable of challenging for first team honours, out due to various injuries.
With the likes of Robin Singh, Dhanpal Ganesh, Rowlin Borges, Bikash Jairu, Calvin Lobo and Pronay Halder missing in action, many would have pardoned the Indians if any mishap were to occur. And with Laos running the rule over the game for the first half an hour, many thought this would do down as another day of misery in the annals of Indian football.
The “reserves” however, had other ideas. Both debutants Fulganco Cardozo and Sumit Passi impressed in their debuts, scoring a goal each. In fact, everyone from Sunil Chhetri up top to Keegan Pereira at left back dug in and pulled off a magnificent result. This should be good news for all football fans in India as it showed that India possess good depth in their ranks even though the level of opposition wasn't the greatest.
#5 The battle is won but the war is not over
India impressed all and sundry tonight with their display at Guwahati. However, this is just the beginning of a long and toiling journey if they are to make it to the 2019 Asian Cup. The win over Laos only ensures a spot in the final round of qualification for the continent's biggest tournament.
They will now be up against 23 other nations who will be split into six groups. Stephen Constantine must be pleased with the young Indian side’s performance in Assam,but he will have to make sure that his young brigade is up for it as they will be squaring off against Asia’s best in days to come.
The Indian manager has had his share of critics in his managerial spell with India, but the Cypriot deserves credit for his keenness to hand debuts to Indian youngsters, with Passi and Cardozo bringing Constantine’s total to 29, with the duo repaying their managers faith with a goal.
