Indian U-17 players ended its exposure trip to the Europe with a 1-2 defeat against Sporting Lisbon. Carlos Silva (40') provided the much-needed lead to the home team at the end of the first half. Aniket Jadhav (41') quickly levelled the scoreline after the resumption but another goal by Ussumane (51') settled the tie for the home team.
To come away with a narrow 1-2 defeat against a team like Sporting Lisbon, which has produced stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, augurs well for the team’s preparation for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The match, which was slated to be a 40-minute-half affair, started at a great pace and the Indian colts lived up to the expectation and contained the flurry of attacks, mostly from both the flanks. Naorem curled in a long ball from the right in the 20th minute which almost found the target but the goalkeeper stood tall to defy him.
After the half-hour mark, Abhijit tried his luck from the top of the box but the Sporting defence couldn't be unsettled by that.
Close to half-time, Sporting Lisbon found the back of the net from a corner. Gill, who was handed the pair of gloves by coach Matos on Tuesday, failed to stop the ball.
As soon as the match resumed, Aniket equalised and India pushed the host to the wall with a plethora of attacks. Anwar's header went straight to the goalie whereas Sanjeev's long-ranger was cancelled out by a cautious Sporting defence.
A few minutes later, Ussumane scored again for the host to put the team back in the driver's seat. Six minutes later, India was awarded a penalty but unfortunately, Aniket Jadhav squandered the opportunity.
Sporting Lisbon created a few chances towards the end of the game but Indian defenders saw off the danger cautiously to keep the scoreline unchanged.
Comments
SHARE