The Hindu : Sport / Football : India crashes out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 03, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Football

India crashes out

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: A late resurgence saw holder Korea Republic strike three goals in the last quarter of the match to douse India's hopes of surviving in the AFC Youth Championship. The concluding round of Group A league held at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday saw the home side stand out with a show of tact and ability against the defending champion and keep the score-sheet clean for the first 75 minutes. But it ran out of steam against the persistent Korean attacks.

Korea realised an all-win record and topped the group table with full nine points. Jordan held Kyrgyzstan to a goalless draw in the other match of the same group, played simultaneously at the nearby Howrah Municipal Corporation Stadium, to book the second position in the group and ensure a berth in the knock-out quarterfinals.

Jordan, collecting three crucial points from its 3-2 win over India, tallied four points after the draw on Thursday. Kyrgyzstan and India collected a lone point each earned from the 1-1 draw against each other. Korea and Jordan will play the runner-up and winner of Group B, which will be decided on Friday.

The loss against Jordan appeared to have its positive effects on the home side on Thursday. Though Korea had fielded a team composed mostly of pickings from the bench, India showed the right knack.

The host too made five changes in the list that started off against Jordan and held the Koreans back with a good show of passing and snatching. The first session ended goalless though India had a chance of going up in the 11th minute but its striker Branco Vincent Cardozo squandered it failing to keep his volley on target.

Good work

The second session wore on without any change to the scoreline as India kept up the good work in defence. Sensing danger the Koreans reintroduced a clutch of first team players in an attempt to turn things around. As the match neared its end the home side began showing signs of fatigue.

As India loosened its grip on the match, Young Sung Shim struck the lead in the 75th minute with a splendid volley. The lead was doubled 10 minutes later and this time it was Jin Hyung Song who exposed the growing laxity in the Indian defence.

Young Rok Shin nodded home the final goal in the second minute of injury time.

The results: Korea 3 (Young Sung Shim, Jin Hyung Song, Young Rok Shin) bt India 0; Jordan 0 drew with Kyrgyzstan 0.

Wednesday's result: China 2 (Yangpo Wang 2) bt United Arab Emirates 1 (Mubarak Mesmari).

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport