Football news: India held to a 1-1 draw by Singapore in Vietnam

India played their first international football match since the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in June. Both sides began the match cautiously as the Indian squad went into the game without the experienced central defender Sandesh Jhingan.

Singapore got an opportunity to open the scoring in the 14th minute when Ikhsan Fandi got a clear window to strike. Defender Anwar Ali came to the rescue within a nick of time with a fantastic clearance.

The 23-year-old Singaporean striker launched another attack ten minutes later but failed to break past Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu with his header.

Anirudh Thapa immediately launched a counter-attack with a through pass to Ashique Kuruniyan, who sent the ball to Liston Colaco just outside the box. The 23-year-old fired an accurate shot towards the goal. However, Singaporean goalkeeper Hassan Sunny dived to make an impressive save in a moment of goalkeeping brilliance.

Singapore finally got a breakthrough in the 37th minute as Ikhsan Fandi's right-footed freekick went past the Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu after deflecting off the goalpost.

However, Blue Tiger immediately went on the offensive and equalized the score six minutes later. Sahal Abdul Samad took control of the ball in the middle of the field and passed it to captain Sunil Chhetri. 

The veteran Indian striker broke past the defensive line of Singapore and sent the ball to Ashique Kuruniyan, who slotted the ball into the net with a fantastic left-footed strike.

Thapa-Ashique pairing almost added another goal for India in the second half, but Hassan Sunny made a timely save. Both sides failed to score more goals, and the match ended with a 1-1 draw.

After the match, Sunil Chetri said, "There are many things we could have done better. I am sure the coach will have a talk with us about it. We missed a lot of chances, and maybe we could have defended a little better, but without being too harsh on ourselves, there are a few things that we need to work on."

India will next lock horns with Vietnam in the second friendly match of the series at Thong Nhat Stadium on September 27.