The India U-17 men’s team ended its Indonesia tour with a 1-0 victory over the host in the second of two friendlies at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar on Tuesday.
In a much-improved display from Sunday’s 1-3 defeat to the same opponents, Brahmacharimayum Sumit Sharma’s second-half header proved to be the difference for India.
The Blue Colts will now return to their base camp in Srinagar to continue their preparations for next month’s SAFF U-17 Championship in Bhutan and the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers in Thailand in October.
Head coach Ishfaq Ahmed made a solitary change in the line-up from the first game, with Yaipharemba Chingakham replacing Thoungamba Usham Singh at right-back.
While India dominated possession in the first half, it was Indonesia who carved out the first opportunity of the game, with Fadly Alberto Hengga squaring the ball for an unmarked Nazriel Alfaro in the box, but the latter drove his first-time shot over the bar.
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Even with the host pegged back for long periods, an attempt on target remained elusive for India until the dying minutes of the first half. Chingakham flashed a left-footed long-range shot wide of the post before Mohammad Kaif’s long throw caused some commotion in the box, resulting in Muhammad Arbash blasting a loose ball on target only for it to be blocked by an Indonesian shirt.
India got a flurry of chances in first-half injury time.
Kaif’s well-weighted delivery was met by captain Ngamgouhou Mate but his header lacked power and it was an easy collection for goalkeeper Nur Ichsan. Then Kaif headed wide from a Karish Soram free-kick. In the last chance of the first half, Vishal Yadav served a square ball on a plate for Levis Zangminlun, who scored two days ago, but couldn’t repeat it as his side-footed effort went way off-target.
Indonesia came out with more intensity in the second half, forcing Aheibam Suraj Singh to make a couple of top-drawn saves to maintain his clean sheet. India withstood the pressure and defended with more organisation than in the first match.
Finally, it paid off as centre-back Brahmacharimayum Sumit Sharma rose the highest to score from the corner with a fine header in the 79th minute to put India 1-0 ahead.
As Indonesia became desperate for the equaliser, India began exploiting spaces in the attacking third and the victory of margin could’ve been bigger. In the 94th minute, substitute Hemneichung Lunkim’s low shot swerved inches wide of the far post, but it didn’t matter ultimately as India took home a well-deserved victory and ended the tour on a high.
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