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India held its own in a tough challenge against a spirited Syria team and came out with a 1-1 draw in their last match of the Hero Intercontinental Cup. The host nation, who won the tournament last year, finished at the bottom of the table this time with a single point in their kitty.
India by far played their best game of the tournament as their performance improved quite impressively. The defence ticked most of their boxes this time and the youngsters also impressed.
Both the teams that participated in this match are out of the tournament, as Tajikistan and DPR Korea will meet each other in the final, to be held on July 19.
Here are the three reasons why India drew the game:
#3 Overall improved defensive performance
Since Igor Stimac came in to coach the Indian football team, the defensive performance came up in discussion in almost every match. His constant chopping and changing was overbearing to some Indian fans and pundits who were desperate for a win.
However, Tuesday was no exception. Stimac against shuffled his team’s defensive line-up and this time, Rahul Bheke teamed up with young Narender Gahlot in the central defence. Pritam Kotal and Mandar Rao Dessai had taken to full-back roles.
What many thought would be disastrous turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Indian fans. Bheke, who disappointed last time when he played at the heart of the defence, came out with flying colours this time. He was rock solid throughout the match and provided the much-needed solidity in the team. He combined well the Narender to keep the Syrian attackers away throughout the match.
Pritam too did his job but sometimes he looked a little bit shaky. He used his experience to keep the team together and maintain momentum.
The only weak point in the Indian defence was the left-back position, where Mandar was stationed. It seemed Mandar did a good job, but not his substitute. Jerry Lalrinzuala came in with barely 15 minutes left in the game and just a couple of minutes later, he conceded the only penalty of the game, through which Syrian captain Firsa Alkhatib equalized.
Jerry nearly committed the same mistake again but this time he got a reprieve from the referee, who directed a free-kick to the home side, much to the chagrin of Alkhatib. Jerry’s mistake was the only point in an otherwise solid performance from this Indian side.
#2 Glimpses of brilliance in offence despite Syria's hard-nosed defence
Whenever Indian captain Sunil Chhetri takes the field, he always wants to get the ball into the back of the net in the next 90 minutes. He has done so 71 times in his career as an Indian player, but the game the against Syria on Tuesday turned out to a difficult outing for India's record goalscorer.
Syria had to win to make it to the final. So, they didn’t want to take any chance. Chhetri, the main threat for India, was closed out as soon as the game started. Mohammed Fares did an impeccable job in central defence. He matched the run and speed of Chhetri and executed his team’s plan beautifully. The Indian captain did show some glimpses of his true calibre, including a defence-splitting pass to Udanta Singh in the second half, but couldn’t get a goal.
In the first half an hour of the game, there wasn't much movement and Syrian players took control. India were mainly attacking through the right side as Lallianzuala Chhangte was not looking at his best then.
However, as the game went on, Sahal Abdul Samad and Anirudh Thapa started showing their talent as India interchanged wings, exhibited more creativity in the midfield, and became aggressive.
#1 Narender Gahlot's impressive outing
Just half an hour into the game, Narender Gahlot almost conceded a goal for his team. He failed to mark onrushing Firas Alkhatib and the Syrian captain almost gave his side the lead. The ball just went past the second post of an outstretched Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Narender looked up at the sky and probably cursed himself for the mistakes he had committed. At the same time, he perhaps vowed to not repeat the mistake. It turned out to be the day for the 18-year-old as he became the first player born in the 21st century to score for India.
Had Jerry not made the mistake late into the game, India would’ve come out with all the three points. Being put alongside Rahul Bheke at the heart of the defence, Narender always looked confident as he denied the Syrian attackers time and again. He covered most of the field amongst all defenders in the match.
The moment of joy came in the 51st minute, when a pin-point corner from Anirudh Thapa landed in the middle of the box and Narender, taller than most of the boys of his age, out jumped everyone to put the ball into the corner of the net.
He continued to impress throughout the match and might have saved the face of Indians in the final match of their Intercontinental Cup campaign.
