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New Delhi: India suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat at the hands of Belarus at the AGMK Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Thursday, April 8, 2021.

While both the sides played out an even first half, Belarus took the lead through a Shuppo Nastassia penalty, before Pilipenka Hanna doubled their lead. Meanwhile, India’s Sangita Basfore pulled one back deep into added time.

After a good performance against Uzbekistan, India started off with a high tempo in the first half, and almost took the lead within three minutes, when Soumya Guguloth’s venomous shot from outside the box struck the Belarus cross-bar. Striker Pyari Xaxa did manage to get her head onto the rebound, but her effort looped over the goal and went out of play.

Anju Tamang, looked lively, playing at the right fullback position, often making forays into the opposition area. Not only did she help in attack, but Anju also tracked back to make a few crucial blocks and affect a few turnovers in possession.

Around the quarter hour mark, Manisha dribbled past a couple of defenders and made her way into the opposition area, before going down under some attention by the Belarus defenders. However, the referee waved play on.

Minutes later, Belarus had a great opportunity to score, when midfielder Pilipenka Hanna was played through on goal. She slipped her shot past the keeper, but India’s defender Ranjana Chanu recovered well in time to clear the danger.

India head coach Maymol Rocky gave a run-in to experienced defender Ashalata Devi towards the end of the first half, bringing off Soumya in her place, as the two sides headed into the dressing rooms level on the scoreboard.

Belarus grabbed the initiative after the changeover, as they managed to work the ball into the Indian net, but the referee soon blew his whistle, signalling that one of their attackers was in an offside position during the buildup.

However, India soon started to settle into the second half as well. A minute past the hour mark, Manisha Kalyan soared up the left flank to enter the opposition area and send in a low cross. However, it evaded striker Pyari Xaxa, who tried in vain to get a vital touch on the ball.

Minutes later, though, Belarus were awarded a penalty after one of their attackers was adjudged to have been fouled inside the Indian box. Shuppo Nastassia slotted the ball to the left of Aditi Chauhan, who had dived in the correct direction, but the ball was just beyond her reach.

Belarus doubled their advantage 10 minutes later, when Pilipenka Hanna was played through into the Indian penalty box, and she squeezed her shot between the keeper and the near post; as the ball hit the upright and bundled in.

India looked determined to get back in the game after that, and Indumathi instantly found Manisha on the left with a piercing through ball. The latter pulled the trigger after sprinting into the Belarus box, but her effort was saved.

With around five minutes of regulation time left on the clock, India won a free-kick close to the Belarus area. Sangita Basfore stood over the dead ball, and put her laces through it, but her effort sailed inches wide.

Basfore got one back late in added time, as she pulled the trigger from around 30 yards out. The Belarus keeper managed to get a glove onto that, but Sangita’s shot packed too much of a punch, as the ball deflected off the keeper’s gloves and into the net. However, there was not much time left for a comeback, as the referee soon brought the game to an end.

(AIFF Media)

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New Delhi: India lost by the faintest of margins in their first friendly in Uzbekistan, as the hosts grabbed victory with a late goal at the AGMK Stadium, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Monday (April 5, 2021).

While both sides created ample scoring opportunities, Uzbekistan found the back of the net with a late free-kick by Maftuna Shoyimova on the 87th minute, to win by a narrow margin.

As the Uzbeks started off on a higher tempo in near-freezing conditions, that are mostly unfamiliar to the away side, India keeper Aditi Chauhan was called into action early on, as she did well to get down and grab a low cross from point-blank range.

India looked to hit the hosts on the counter in the early exchanges, with defender Ranjana Chanu combining with midfielder Sangita Basfore to create an opportunity down the left, but the danger was eventually averted by the Uzbek defence.

The Indian defence staved off the early Uzbek attacks, inspired by Sweety Devi, who did well to deal with the continuous aerial threat by the hosts.

India soon began to warm-up to the game, as Manisha found some space in the Uzbekistan half in the 24th minute, and unleashed a ferocious left-footer that whizzed over the crossbar.

A few minutes later, Soumya Guguloth made her way into some space in the Uzbekistan box from the right. She turned and tried to curl it with her left foot, but it was blocked.

In the dying minutes of the first half, Uzbekistan launched another attack that saw Nilufar Kudratova hit the crossbar, before the ball was cleared from inside a melee of legs, as the referee soon brought an end to proceedings.

Daya Devi, who replaced Pyari Xaxa in the first half, looked lively in the opening exchanges of the second, as she pressed high up on the pitch, to force an error from the Uzbekistan defence, with the help of Soumya Guguloth. The former looked to play it into the path of an onrushing Dangmei Grace, but it was intercepted.

Around 10 minutes into the second half, Manisha combined well with Ranjana Chanu to work the ball up the pitch down the left flank. The young attacker found a channel to Daya, who turned her marker inside the box and crossed it in. However, the ball evaded all the attackers and defenders, and the danger was soon averted.

Uzbekistan had a clear chance to take the lead when midfielder Maftuna Shoyimova nodded a corner towards goal, but Anju Tamang cleared it off the line.

On the 65th minute, India broke on the counter as Sangita Basfore won the ball in India’s defensive third. Under pressure, she managed to poke it onto the path of Dangmei Grace, who carried it into the attacking half, and curled an aerial through ball into the path of Manisha, who slipped through between two defenders. The attacker queued up her shot, but it lacked power and the opposition keeper managed to gather the ball.

Soon after, a cross by Anju Tamang was not cleared properly, as it fell kindly to Soumya Guguloth, who instantly had a try at goal from inside the six-yard box. However, it was cleared off the line.

The hosts found the back of the net with just three minutes of regulation time left on the clock, when Maftuna Shoyimova slotted a free-kick from around 25 yards out, into the top corner.

Thus, India’s first friendly match in Uzbekistan this year, ended in a narrow defeat to the hosts.

(AIFF Media)

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