Indian Football: Bahrain edge past India 2-1 with a late goal, Upcoming friendly against Belarus on March 26

The winning goal for Bahrain came with just 2 minutes left on the clock in a strike by Mahdi Al-Humaidan after both the teams were tied  at 1-1.

The match started with Bahrain’s forward line playing it quickly and confidently. They were awarded a penalty in the sixth minute. Sandesh Jhingans hand was hit at the edge of the penalty box by a shot from Mohamed Mahroon. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved Mahdi Humaidan’s penalty with his judgment and quick reaction as he dived down to his left to palm off the shot.

Bahrain had more control of the field in the early stage of the match, but soon after India got their first shot of the game. Rahim Ali sent a cross towards Manvir Singh which was headed off target. India earned their first corner in the 29th minute when a long ball for Sandesh Jhingan was intercepted by Bahraini defense and cleared for a corner. Just two minutes later, visitors earned a free kick but failed to convert either of the opportunities into a goal.

In the 36th minute, Bahrain scored their first goal as Mahroon floated the ball into the box for Mohamed Hardan to volley it into the goal past Sandhu. The first half ended with a solitary goal with a 1-0 lead for Bahrain.

India started faster in the second half and scored the equalizer after earning a corner in the 56th minute. The goal came as Roshan took the corner and flew the ball past the rival defense for Rahul Bheke to head it in.

The winning goal of the game happened just two minutes before the final whistle. Mahdi Al-Humaidan made a run towards a cross from the right to win it for Bahrain.

The match saw five Indian players chosen by India’s head coach Igor Stimac. VP Suhair and Danish Farooq were part of the starting line up while Roshan Singh, Aniket Jadhav and Anwar Ali came in the second half as substitutes.

Seven Indian players denied a Visa 

India will be playing against Belarus on March 26 in the second of the two-game international friendlies series held in Bahrain ahead of India’s AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The 24 teams taking part in the qualifiers have been divided into six groups of four teams each. India has been placed in group D with Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. They will be playing all their Asian Cup qualifiers in Kolkata from June 8 onward. The top team from each group and five of the second-best teams will make it to the final event.