India suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of hosts Vietnam in their second and final match of the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament at the Thing Nhat Stadium here on Tuesday. The opening exchanges saw India get off on the front foot, winning the first corner of the game, one that Sunil Chhetri swung in for Anirudh Thapa, who was lurking inside the six-yard box, but the ball evaded the latter.
At the other end, Nguyen Cong Phuong of Vietnam was played into the Indian box on the left and was looking to put in a dangerous cut-back, but Blue Tigers center-back Sandesh Jhingan was on hand to avert the danger.
The hosts did not take too long to jump into the lead when a clearance from a Vietnam corner fell kindly for Phan Van Duc, who did well to volley it home with his back turned toward the goal, giving his side the lead on the 10th minute.
Despite the lead, Vietnam did not sit back, looking to score their second of the night, but that also created gaps at the back. Akash Mishra and Ashique Kuruniyan combined on the left to create a wonderful opportunity for India in the 26th minute. Mishra soared up the left and fed it through to Ashique in the box. The latter took a touch and sent in a left-footed volley, which went wide.
Sahal Abdul Samad had a great opportunity around the half-hour mark when Udanta played it to him inside the box. He stepped past his marker and tried to cross it, but the ball went straight to Vietnam goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh.
Vietnam made a couple of changes at the start of the second half, and it was second-half substitute Nguyen Van Toan who doubled their lead four minutes into the second half. Giving chase after an aerial ball, Van Toan barged past Indian center-back Anwar Ali, entered the box, and slipped it into the bottom corner.
Stimac soon introduced some fresh legs into the fray, looking to change India’s fortunes, as Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, and Roshan Singh were brought on for Chhetri, Udanta, and Chinglensana, with around 25 minutes of regulation time to go.
While these substitutions did allow India to gain a bit more control of possession in the middle of the park, that also left spaces behind, which is exactly what Vietnam exploited for their third goal of the night. Bui Hoang Viet Ahn’s cross from the right was headed clear by Jhingan, but Nguyen Van Quyet got on the stray ball and smashed it home.
India threw bodies forward in the closing stages, and a cross by substitute Brandon Fernandes directed towards Sandesh Jhingan inside the Vietnam box created some excitement, but the latter’s header was straight at the keeper.