Bharat secured their spot in the SAFF U19 Football Championship
semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Bhutan at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu
on Monday.
The Teams were locked 1-1 at half-time. Jigme Namgyel gave Bhutan
the lead in the 20th minute, but Bharat bounced back with goals from Gwgwmsar
Goyary and Ricky Meetei.
Bharat went into the match with the upper hand in Group B, having
defeated Bangladesh 3-0. To add to that, Bhutan’s 4-3 victory against
Bangladesh meant that Bharat needed only a draw to secure the top spot in the
group.
In the penultimate round, Bharat will cross swords with hosts and
Group A runners-up Nepal on Wednesday.
A tight contest ensued in the middle of the stadium as the two
sides looked to gain control of the game. Bharat looked to overload the wings,
as Raja Harijan sent searching aerial through balls onto the flanks.
Against the run of play, it was Bhutan who took the lead through
Jigme Namgyel, whose cross from the right flank fooled everyone, as it crept
into the top corner.
Bharat, for their part, managed to create some confusion inside the
Bhutan penalty box, as they sent aerial through balls, aiming for their
rotating target man.
Kelvin Singh Taorem went through early on, only to collide with
Bhutan keeper Penjor Gyeltshen, as the ball rolled wide.
Taorem had another opportunity in the 36th minute when a cross from
the left by Naoba Meitei was flicked on by the former, but it was saved from
point-blank range by Gyeltshen.
The Blue Colts finally had their equaliser almost immediately, when
a similar aerial through ball was fed into the box, where it bounced over the keeper
before Gwgwmsar Goyary hustled his way in and nodded it into an empty net.
Bharat started on the front foot in the second half and took the
lead in the 64th minute with a corner that was clearly worked out in training.
Yash Chikro, instead of looping the corner into the box, sent a
grounded drive to the top of the box, where an unmarked Ricky Meetei pounced on
the opportunity and side-footed it into the bottom corner with an accurate
shot.
Despite having the lead, Bharat never looked like they wanted to
sit on their advantage and play out the match. They continued to take the
attack into the rival box and even pressed high when Bhutan had the ball.
Raja Harijan played a crucial role, sitting deep to break up the
Bhutan attacks in midfield. The Blue Colts ended the group stage with six
points, and have secured their spot in the semi-finals, as the top team in
Group B.
Bharat: Lionel Daryl Rymmei (GK) (C); Ricky Meetei, Jahangir Ahmad
Shagoo, Thomas Kanamootil Cherian, Aula Siba Prasad; Raja Harijan, Arjun Singh
Oinam (Thumsol Tongsin 81’), Kelvin Singh Taorem (Sahil Khurshid 46’); Naoba
Meitei, Yash Chikro (Manglenthang Kipgen 81’), Gwgwmsar Goyary (Dinesh Singh 90’).
ANI
