Shillong, Mar 31: India’s underwhelming Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers campaign ended on a positive note as they defeated Hong Kong 2-1 in Kochi this evening.
India had not won any of their other five Group C qualifiers, losing to Bangladesh 1-0 in their last outing on 18th November in Dhaka. They had also been beaten by Hong Kong away (1-0 on 10th June) and by Singapore at home (2-1 on 14th October). The Blue Tigers earned 2 points through draws with Bangladesh in Shillong (0-0 on 25th March last year) and in Singapore (1-1 on 9th October).
Erly strikes from debutant Ryan Williams and left-back Akash Mishra in either half ensured the Blue Tigers secure their first win of the qualifying campaign. Singapore topped the group with 14 points to seal qualification for the Asian Cup, Hong Kong were second and Bangladesh third, meaning that India’s win today still wasn’t enough for them to avoid the Group C wooden spoon.
Coach Khalid Jamil handed a much-awaited debut to Ryan, while Bijoy Varghese also made his first India appearance off the bench.
India made a perfect start to the game, with Ryan marking his debut with a goal in the fourth minute. A swift transition down the right flank saw a well-timed pass by Abhishek Singh Tekcham release Manvir Singh, who squared the ball for Ryan to tap it in past the goalkeeper and open the scoring.
It was also the fastest goal scored by a debutant for India, surpassing the previous record of sixth-minute strikes by K Appalaraju against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in a pre-Olympics match in Colombo in 1963 and Mehtab Hossain against Nepal in the 2005 SAFF Cup in Karachi.
The Blue Tigers began the second half just as brightly as the first. Rahul Bheke’s long throw was not cleared by the opposition defence. As the ball bobbled inside the box, Akash Mishra reacted quickest at the near post, rifling a right-footed effort from a tight angle past the goalkeeper for his first international goal and double India’s lead.
India’s defence was breached just after the hour mark as Braunshtain Barak found space between Sandesh Jhingan and Rahul Bheke to slip a pass through to Everton Camargo. The forward timed his run perfectly, got to the ball ahead of the defenders and finished past Gurpreet to halve the deficit.
In the end, India held on to their one-goal lead and secure a hard-fought victory in front of a 22,690 strong crowd in Kochi.
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali (sub Jeakson Singh Thounaojam 70’), Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra (sub Roshan Singh Naorem 84’), Lallianzuala Chhangte (sub Bijoy Varghese 90’), Lalengmawia, Manvir Singh, Ryan Williams (sub Ashique Kuruniyan 70’), Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Liston Colaco
(All India Football Federation photo)