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India U-19 women's team suffered their first loss of the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship. They went down 1-0 to hosts Bangladesh at the BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka. A contentious penalty decision in the seventh minute of the match made all the difference in the encounter.
India were top of the table after beating Sri Lanka and Bhutan in their opening two matches before coming into the game. They needed a win to book their spot in the final. After today's defeat, India can still reach the final if they beat Nepal on Sunday.
Coach Alex Ambrose knew that Bangladesh would be a much tougher challenge, with 15 of their squad members already a part of the senior setup. Tight tournament scheduling meant Bangladesh had more than two days of extra rest than India to prepare for the clash. But Ambrose assured that's not an excuse.
There were two changes to the XI that beat Bhutan on Wednesday for India. Santosh and Purnima Kumari came in place of Lynda Kom Serto and Poonam.
India were on the backfoot from the get-go with Bangladesh's high press. In the seventh minute, the hosts took the lead rather controversially. Sri Lankan referee Pabasara Minisarani awarded a penalty for what was only a slight nudge by Kritina Devi on Tohura Khatun. Shamsunnahar Sr converted the resulting spot kick to put the defending champions 1-0 ahead.
India struggled to settle into the game early on, barely managing to string more than a couple of passes together. The visitors' first chance fell to in-form Priyangka Devi in the 21st minute. However, her left-footed shot from the edge of the box was collected by the Bangladeshi keeper.
Indian goalkeeper Anshika pulled off a fantastic save to deny Bangladesh the second goal. She tipped over Akhi Khatun's free-kick, heading right into the top-corner, over the crossbar.
Anshika came to the rescue once again early in the second half. She expertly poked away Tohura Khatun's header from close range following a corner.
India's first golden chance to equalize came in the 63rd minute. Nitu Linda, just seconds after coming on, released Sumati Kumari with a ball over the top. The winger tried to lob the oncoming keeper but it fell just inches wide of the post.
Sumati was in the thick of things again only a few minutes later after being sent through on goal by Astam Oraon's long ball. The 17-year-old raced forward from the halfway line and decided to take an early shot but sent it wide.
Bangladesh kept hold of the ball well in the closing stages and saw off a narrow 1-0 win to replace India at the top of the table. India will feel hard done by with the early penalty decision which eventually made all the difference in the contest. Apart from a couple of opportunities on the break for Sumati, the young Indians barely tested the Bangaldeshi defense.
The hosts succeeded in taking control for most of the match and ran out deserving winners on the afternoon. Clearly, there is a lot more to improve for India before their crunch match against Nepal on Sunday, December 19th at 02:30 PM IST.
