India U-19 team goes down to Moldova in Granatkin Memorial tournament

India U-19 team suffered its second defeat in the XXXI Granatkin Memorial tournament as it went down to Moldova 1-2.

Published : Jun 06, 2019 20:26 IST , Mumbai

The India U-19 team before its fixture against Moldova.
The India U-19 team before its fixture against Moldova.
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The India U-19 team before its fixture against Moldova.

India U-19 team suffered its second defeat in the XXXI Granatkin Memorial tournament as it went down to Moldova 1-2.

Rohit Danu opened the scoring for India in the 34 minute before conceding two quick goals in the second half from the Moldovans. Puscas Dan (54') drew the parity for the European nation before Mihail Cioban (57') converted the spot-kick to confirm their first win of the tournament.

Coach Floyd Pinto made a couple of changes in the starting line-up as he replaced Shabas Ahammed and Sanjeev Stalin with Robin Yadav and Vikram Partap Singh, respectively.

India showed its intent in the fourth minute when Jeakson Singh tried his luck from outside of the box, only to see his effort punched away by the opposition keeper. Within the next ten minutes, the another attempt by the midfielder flew over the crossbar.

The Indian colts were playing a more purposeful and creative brand of football and eventually, in the 31st minute, Rohit pulled the trigger to send the Indian dugout into delirium.

Givson Singh started the attacking move from the middle before passing it to Ninthoi. The winger, on a counter-attacking move through the right flank, put in a well-directed cross to Rohit, who made no mistake as he nodded it past the Maldova keeper.

India was able to hold onto the slender lead at the end of the first half.

After the resumption, Moldova tweaked its strategies and pushed India further to score the equaliser. In the 56 minute, Robin Yadav pulled Cojocari down and the referee awarded a penalty in favour of the European outfit. Skipper Gaiu Valeriu put it past Prabhsukhan Gill to give Moldova the lead for the first time in the match.

India will play its final match of the group stage against Bulgaria on June 9.

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