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India put up a spirited performance, overcoming numerous adversities, before going to Jordan by 1-2 margin at the King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman on Saturday.
This was the penultimate match before the all-important AFC Asian Cup for India. They will play Oman next month. But it seemed everything had gone against them before the match. India lost their talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri due to an injury he sustained in an Indian Super League match.
But that was not the only problem for them. Problems started to arise since their departure. Jordan was witnessing heavy rainfall for the p3ast few days and it took many lives as of now. Not only Jordan but their middle-east neighbours were also witnessing flash floods for the past few days.
The speculation was rife that the friendly would get cancelled as seven members of the Indian national football reached Jordan late on Friday after a 32-hour delay at the Kuwait International Airport. These players received their luggage and kits only on Saturday morning, five hours before the scheduled kick-off.
However, in a high-level meeting on Saturday morning, the players were directed to take the field and put up a show no matter what happens thereafter. As a result, the players had to take the field without any practice sessions.
Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was made captain for the match, saved a penalty from Bani Atiyeh. But the Indian captain quickly turned villain when he made a blunder in the 25th minute to concede a goal, rather uncharacteristically.
Jordan increased their lead in the second half through Ehsan Haddad who got a superb pass from Sameer and scored with his first touch. India continued their attack and Nishu Kumar pulled one back four minutes. India pressed hard but couldn’t find the equaliser.
We now look at the five Talking points from the match:
#5 India didn’t look tired
Constantine made six changes to the side that faced China last month. There was no Sandesh Jhinghan at the heart of the defence. Jeje Lalpekhlua and Balwant Singh were not even on the bench. Only two players from the bunch of seven – who were stuck at the Kuwait Airport for 32 hours – featured in the match.
Ashique Kuruniyan came in the start of the second half and Sumeet Passi was introduced later on. Coach Stephen Constantine was left with little options even to field eleven players on the pitch. All of them were coming in between a hectic season of Indian Super League. Off the field affairs made their task really difficult.
However, the players didn’t bow down to the adversities they faced before the match. None of them looked tired and tried to give everything on the pitch. India were the attacking side in the second half and that shows how seriously they took the game. It was the lack of experience for which they lost.
#4 Untested defenders put up a good show
In the absence of Jhinghan, Constantine fielded Anas Edathodika and Salam Ranjan Singh in the centre of the defence. The duo has played only one match together before. Also, Salam has not played a single match with East Bengal this season. So is the case with Anas, who only played with Kerala Blasters in their match against FC Goa, which his side lost by 0-3.
Subhasish Bose got his natural left-back position as Narayan Das was not there in the starting line-up. But eyes were on the central defenders and how they fare against a relatively stronger opponent.
After the match, it should be safe to say that they performed beyond expectations. India spent the entire first half defending in their own half and didn’t take a shot on rival’s goal. Salam and Anas were not allowing space to Baha Faisal and Ahmed Ersan. They only time they lost the concentration was during the second goal. The defenders were close to each other and didn’t notice Haddad rushing in from the left.
Pritam Kotal though was left bemused by some quick tricks of Al-Bakheet but fortunately didn’t commit a mistake. Salam also kept his cool on the defence and Anas showed the maturity which was expected from him.
#3 Jordan lacked creativity in the attacking third
Jordan lost to World Cup runners Croatia 1-2 in their previous match. The score line would now look unimaginable comparing to the performance they dished out against India on Saturday. Of course, they were the better team on the pitch and deservedly won the match, but they should have won by more goals against a depleted side like India, who were ravaged by the off-field issues.
Jordan coach Vital Borkelmans missed his star player Musa Al-Tamari. But they had full strength on their disposal. Like his counterpart, the Jordan coach was also shuffling with his side to pick out the best XI which will play in the Asian Cup a couple of months later. But Saturday’s performance proved there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
The home side started with a 3-5-2 formation and controlled the match right from the start. Ahmed Sameer and Khalil Bani Attiah kept changing positions in the two wings. Attiah was most destructive from the left side. He even went near the goal mouth few times but wasted every opportunity. His crosses are also not lethal.
Faisal and Ehsan also failed to live up their reputation. Despite fielding an attacking side, there was not enough firepower among the Jordan players which could pressurise Indian defenders.
They will face a much sterner test against Saudi Arabia two days later and in the Asian Cup against Australia.
#2 India badly missed Chhetri and Balwant
Stephen Constantine started with 4-2-3-1 formation leaving youngster Anirudh Thapa as a lone striker. Jerry Lalrinzuala and Jackichand Singh were on the two sides to help him. Anirudh may have been impressive with his performance for Chennaiyin FC, but he is not someone who can carry his nation on his shoulder.
The pint-sized footballer had little to do in the first half, which was dominated by Jordan. He moved from one side to the other and didn’t touch the ball for a major period in the first half.
Jerry was also unimpressive from the left wing and failed to show the aggressive attitude which was expected from him. Constantine replaced him with Kuruniyan before the start of the second half and that is where the game was changed.
Kuruniyan coupled with Anirudh and Germanpreet Singh moved to left as Constantine opted for a 4-4-2 formation. That bore fruit as India looked more dangerous in the opponent’s half and even created few chances. Kuruniyan was lively on the pitch despite not getting enough recovery time. Thapa also got his rhythm back and the duo started flashing their talents.
Alas, there was no one who could score! There was no Jeje who would control the ball in the opponent’s half. There was no Balwant who would make the darting runs towards the goal mouth. And the person who can do both was sitting at his home probably biting his nails after watching so many chances get wasted.
Despite a spirited performance, India missed a goal scorer like Sunil Chhetri or Balwant. Only Constantine knows why there was no Balwant or Jeje on the bench. At least they could’ve been on for a few minutes in the second half.
#1 Gurpreet Singh goes from hero to villain
There was no better person than Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who could lead the team in the absence of Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhinghan. Gurpreet has all the natural abilities of a leader. He can give instructions to the players from the back and can inspire a teammate with his positive attitude.
It was Gurpreet who played a vital role to keep a clean sheet in India’s previous match against China. In fact, the Punjab-born lad had not conceded a goal in his last four internationals and kept a clean sheet for 378 minutes before the match.
The record was about to break when Jordan got the penalty in the eighth minute. Al Ersan’s shot hit Pritam Kotal’s hand and the referee pointed to the spot. The decision was controversial given that the handball was completely unintentional. However, Gurpreet made a brilliant save by diving on the right side to save Attiah’s spot kick.
But his tenure of being the hero lasted for only 17 minutes. He conceded a goal which no goalkeeper would ever dream of. Jordan goalkeeper Amer Safi kicked the ball which dropped near the Indian box. Gurpreet was much ahead of the goal line and didn’t anticipate something like this would come in his way. The ball got an awkward bounce and even though Gurpreet tried to move back, he could only tip the ball before it went into the net.
Not only the players but the spectators were also bamboozled for quite some time. They were left wondering how a goalkeeper like Gurpreet can concede this kind of goal. After 403 minutes, he finally had to concede due to his own mistake.
The Bengaluru FC player made a couple of good saves in the match after the howler. In spite of his mistake, he should remain as the number one goalkeeper.
