India 2-2 (2-5 aggregate) UAE: A Two Goal Fight Back Not Enough For Armando Colaco’s Boys To Keep The 2014 World Cup Dream Alive

The Men in Blue managed to earn a draw against the West Asians but that wasn't enough in the end...

The Indian hopes of making it into the 2014 World Cup have come to an end as UAE have progressed into the third round of qualifiers with a 5-2 aggregate scoreline over the two legs.

 
Trailing 3-0 from the away leg in Abu Dhabi last week, India managed to halt the Arab nation from registering another victory by scoring two goals in the final quarter of the game to end the match 2-2 at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi. Back in 2007 for the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, India had managed to come up with a similar performance in the home leg against Lebanon in Goa which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Goals from Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gouramangi Moirangthem cancelled those scored by UAE’s Al Shehhi and Al Wehaibi to end the home leg in a draw on Thursday evening.

The Indian line-up saw the inclusion of Clifford Miranda and Karanjit Singh for the suspended duo of Debabrata Roy and Subrata Paul. Meanwhile UAE made one change to their starting eleven with Khalid Sebil coming in place of Mohammed Ahmed Gharib.

The home side started with a 4-4-2 while the visitors were content with their 4-4-1-1 formation.
The heavy rainfall saw a waterlogged pitch and once again highlighted the poor infrastructure India have for football with almost no drainage facilities available. The opening exchanges of the game drew laughter given that neither of the two teams could come to terms with the conditions though the home side did manage to adapt sooner.

The passes weren’t completed as the ball would stop mid-way due to the heavy field while on one occasion UAE goalkeeper Ali Khasif’s clearance, which would under normal circumstances see the ball go out of play, failed to clear which allowed Jeje Lalpekhlua to regain possession!

Steven Dias was the first to test the UAE custodian in the eighth minute after Jeje flicked the ball for Sunil Chhetri who returned it back to his strike partner, following which the Mizoram centre-forward released the right winger to see Dias’ shot being blocked by Khasif.

Samir Naik was once again the guilty party by conceding the free-kick in the danger area as Ahmad Khalil’s attempt saw goalkeeper Karanjit Singh palm the ball away for a corner eight minutes later.

India too had a decent opportunity when Khalid Sebil handled the ball just outside the area but Steven Dias’ curling shot went over the bar; leaving the UAE custodian untroubled.

At the half hour mark, Mehtab Hussain won the ball from Abdul Rehman and kicked the ball in the other half for Chhetri who managed to get around Ismail Hamdan only to see Ali Khasif come off his line to avert the danger.

The visitors did manage to open the scoring eventually, five minutes from half-time whistle, as Al Shehhi headed home from inside the box from an Ahmad Khalil cross from the left with four Indian shirts around.

The closing stages of the first session saw Abdul Rehman missing an opportunity from handshaking distance as he sent the ball into the orbit from an Ahmad Khalil cross.

After the break, the first chance befell Srecko Katenec’s side as Al Wehaibi’s cross  saw Ahmad Khalil almost get to the end of it had it not been for a crucial tackle by Samir Naik inside the box.

 

While at the other end, Ismail Hammadi helped out his defence by not allowing Jeje’s ball for Steven Dias to get to him.

Colaco replaced Dias with Lalrindika Ralte and the youngster looked lively in his time on the pitch.

However India were dealt a massive blow with skipper Al Wehaibi slamming home from inside the area to give Karanjit Singh no chance to stop in the 71st minute.

Three minutes later, Lalrindika showed how to best play on a waterlogged pitch by sending a cross from the right to see Jeje put his head to good use. The goal gave India the much needed confidence which they clearly lacked for most parts.

It was in the injury time of the second half that India scored from a goalmouth melee with Gouramangi Moirangthem doing the needful to make it 2-2.

The match ended with the same scoreline which ended India’s hopes as they now have to wait for another four years before embarking on a similar journey.

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2014 World Cup Qualifier: We Would Look To Capitalize On Our Home Advantage In The Second Leg – India’s Sunil Chhetri

The star striker remains hopeful of overturning the 3-0 deficit against UAE in the second leg at Team India’s fortress – New Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium.

Team India will need something special to comeback in their 2014 World Cup qualifying tie against UAE as Armando Colaco’s side lost the first leg 3-0 in Al Ain City on Saturday evening.

Star striker Sunil Chhetri echoed the thoughts of teammate Karanjit Singh, saying that tie is still within India’s reach as he believes an early goal will set the Indian team on their way to a famous upset.

We are up for the task. It’s just a matter of getting the act right and once we get an early goal, we can put pressure on the opponents (UAE).

“The important thing is not to think about what has happened in UAE but to think Thursday's match as a fresh game. Just go there and give our best,” the newly signed Mohun Bagan player was quoted saying.

The 26-year-old striker looked back to the first leg and praised the effort of the whole Indian team for putting up a fighting display with just nine men on the field.

“We are not as bad a team as people make out to be. It is surprising when you play with nine men and do not concede more than one goal.

"The credit goes to each and everyone for putting up such a brilliant display after we were down to nine men."

Chhetri has full faith in Karanjit Singh to repeat the heroics of the first leg but admits the absence of the suspended Subrata Paul will be felt.

“Karanjit had a great game and its gives us confidence that we have two reliable goalkeepers in the team. But at the same time, the absence of Subrata will be felt as not only he is a great goalkeeper but also manages the defence quite well.”

The Delhi lad talked about how lucky the Ambedkar Stadium has been for the Indian team in the recent past and therefore is calling on his teammates to make the most of their home advantage on Thursday evening.

"We have the home advantage and will look to capitalize on that. We have won three tournaments in three years here (Ambedkar Stadium) and the 4-1 hammering of Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 final shows how well we play here.

“It doesn’t matter who scores as long as we get the result we need and with the crowd on our side we are confident of doing well in the home leg.”

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India blame the referee for loss

AL AIN // A smashed refrigerator in the dressing room stood as evidence of India's frustration following their 3-0 defeat against the UAE on Saturday night after having two men sent off inside the first 23 minutes.

The defender Debabrata Roy was given his marching orders by the Qatari referee, Mohammed Al Dosari, in the 19th minute after he grappled Ali Al Wehaibi to the ground.

Four minutes later, the India goalkeeper, Subrata Pal, followed him to the dressing room after charging at Ismail Al Hammadi with a knee up.

Hamdan Al Kamali and Mohammed Al Shehhi scored from the two resulting penalties and Al Hammadi completed the score-line nine-minutes from time.

Pal, allegedly, took his anger out in the changing room, and Armando Colaco, the India coach, accused the referee of killing off the game.

"My question is, do those incidents merit a red card?," Colaco said. "In the case of Roy, the goalkeeper was behind him. He was not the last defender.

"Subrata had the ball in his hand. So he was protecting it when the player charged him. I know he lifted his leg, but who came charging? Punish him with a yellow card, but not a red card, because he had the ball with him.

"I think the red cards were unnecessary. The referee killed the game. It would have been a very nice game.

"I appreciate and I congratulate UAE for winning this match, but don't forget my boys put up a spirited show because they scored just one field goal."

In the early exchanges, India seemed to be playing true to Colaco's pre-match boast that this is not the same team who got walloped 5-0 at the same venue in November and then at the Asian Cup in January.

The visitors, cheered on by a loud group of supporters, did not seem overawed and looked on par with their rivals, who are ranked 37 places higher by Fifa.

In the 19th minute, however, India were reduced to 10 men when Roy pulled his arms around Al Wehaibi and brought him down. The defender got his marching orders and Al Kamali slotted home from the spot.

A minute later, India lost another man - their goalkeeper Pal, who crashed into Al Hammadi with a raised knee. Play was held up for the next five minutes as the visiting players walked off in protest at the decision by Al Dosari, but the team management convinced them to return.

"Unfortunately there was an emotional outburst there with the referees," said Colaco.

"I am sorry. It all happened in the heat of the moment. The players said they did not want to continue, but I thought about the sanctions that could follow from Fifa and AFC [the Asian Football Confederation]. I told them let's continue and not give any more goals.

"The referee is also human. But to walk away is something I don't think my federation would allow."

The two dismissals forced India to go on the defensive; seven were put on guard duty and Sunil Chhetri played as the lone man upfront.

That, however, could not stop UAE from getting their third goal of the night as Al Hammadi sneaked through the defence and fired home a smart back-flick from Amer Abdulrahman in the 81st minute.

"Frankly speaking, the referee was the man of the match," Colaco said. "The UAE are a much better team and deserved to win for the way they played. We would have played much better football as well … had the referee not been the man of the match."

Srecko Katanec, the UAE coach, was happy that he will be taking a three-goal advantage to Delhi for the reverse leg on Thursday, but believes his team should have scored more.

"Before the game, if somebody had told me 3-0, I would have taken it immediately," Katanec said.

"So I am happy with the result, but I think we should have scored more because we had many chances. This is one area we could certainly improve on.

"We have a big advantage, but we should try to score early [in Delhi] and kill the game.

"We have the quality to keep this advantage."

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