Uzbeks scrape past India
Uzbekistan under-23 team scraped to an unconvincing 2-0 victory against India as the AFC U-23 Championship (Group-E) Qualifiers kicked off at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The Uzbeks, who came here as the highest-ranked side among the teams in these qualifiers -- thanks to the 72nd position in the latest FIFA rankings -- were kept at bay till the 87th minute by a spirited India side. The Uzbeks though profited from two mistakes by the Indians in the last few minutes to eke out a hard-fought victory.
With a 3:00pm kick-off and the sun bearing down on the big bowl, most of the stands remained largely empty. There was one Uzbekistan supported who kept beating his drums to the cheer of a few local fans. But the drummer's enthusiasm failed to egg on their players as the Central Asian powerhouse struggled to get the better of the South Asian 'sleeping giants'. On the contrary, it was the Indians, sitting 101 places below the Uzbeks in the FIFA rankings, who made most of the threatening forays in the first half. They mustered a few powerful attempts from outside the box, but the Uzbekistan goalie was up to the task. Uzbekistan could have taken the lead in the 44th minute when Igor Serjeev, their most potent striker, was through on goal, but he was denied by a last-ditch tackle from India national team's right-back Pritam Kotal.
The Uzbeks were in the ascendancy as the match went on and were denied by Indian 'keeper Arminder Singh and then the right post in the 67th minute. India were confined to their box in the last twenty minutes, under pressure from the Uzbeks, and conceded the opening goal in the 87th minute when Arminder spilled a regulation corner kick from Jamshid Iskandreov to leave Sergeev with the simplest of nod-ins. Five minutes later, Sergeev, regarded as the best striker from Uzbekistan since the days of legendary Maksim Shatskikh, turned provider for the second goal assisting his skipper Vladimir Kozak, after Kotal was dispossessed in front of the box.
Savio Medeira, the India coach, tried put on a brave face at the post-match press conference, saying his team put on a performance to be proud of.
“Mistakes happen in football matches. We will learn through mistakes and get better. My boys worked hard, they missed chances and they gave their best. So I'm really proud of them,” observed the India coach.
“In every tournament, the first match is always difficult. On a given day, if you cannot perform the other team will take chances. We just could not take our chances,” added the former India International.
Bakhtiyor Ashurmatov, the Uzbekistan coach who has been in this position only a month and a half, felt that his side kept fighting till the end despite struggling somewhat in the oppressive heat.
“After first half I told my players to fight till the last minute and keep their concentration. I thank my players because they did that and I also thank the people of Bangladesh who supported us,” said the Uzbekistan coach.
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