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Jordan seals India U-23's Asian Games exit

2014 Incheon Asian Games

2014 Incheon Asian Games

The Indian U-23 Men’s national team finished their 17th Incheon Asian Games 2014 campaign with a loss against Jordan today.

Jordan took the lead in the 17th minute when Laith Subhi Drzi Albashtawi slotted home a rebound off a Amrinder Singh save. Yazan Mohammad Yousef Thalji increased the lead in the second half with a shot from inside the box to hand Jordan a 2-0 win against Wim Koevermans’ team.

The defeat against Jordan brought India’s campaign in the Asian Games Men’s Football Tournament to an end. The United Arab Emirates (3 points) and Jordan (3 points) advance to the knock-out stage from the three-team Group G, while India finishes at the bottom with no points from two matches.

Please scroll down for the AIFF Match Report.

2014 Incheon Asian Games | Men’s Football
at Munhak Stadium, Incheon, Korea Republic

INDIA U-23 0-2 JORDAN U-23

GOALS
0-1 Laith Subhi Drzi Albashtawi (17′)
0-2 Yazan Mohammad Yousef Thalji (67′)

LINE-UPS

India U-23
1 Amrinder Singh – 2 Pritam Kotal, 3 Joyner Lourenco, 4 Sandesh Jhingan, 5 Narayan Das – 20 Lalrindika Ralte, 8 Siam Hangal (75′ 6 Milan Singh) – 10 Francis Fernandes – 11 Sunil Chhetri [C], 18 Seiminlen Doungel – 9 Robin Singh

Unused Subs
16 Ravi Kumar, 19 Kamaljit Singh; 7 Pronoy Halder, 12 Haokip Thongkoshim, 13 Shankar Sampingiraj, 14 Clifton Dias, 15 Mandar Rao Desai, 17 Keenan Almeida

Jordan U-23
1 Mohammad Zeyad Mahmoud Abunabhan; 2 Omar Ahmad Mustafa Almanasrah, 3 Mohannad Khair Alla A. Alsouliman [C], 5 Amer Abuhudieab (88′ 25 Munther Yousef Raja Hasan); 7 Fadi Mahmoud Awad Saleh, 8 Ehsan Manel Farhan Haddad, 9 Ahmad Mousa Ahmad Alessawi, 16 Yazan Mohammad Yousef Thalji (83′ 14 Bilal Ali Altheeb Aldahoud); 10 Laith Subhi Drzi Albashtawi, 11 Ahmad Nawaf Abdel Aziz Israiwah (77′ 6 Mahmoud Nayef Ahmad Almardi), 17 Sameer Maher Raja Suleiman

Unused Subs
12 Rabi Habis Ayoub Izzeldeen; 4 Bara Sami Mousa Marie, 13 Husam Khaled Hasan Abu Sadah, 15 Ali Yaser Ali Al Rthoom, 19 Osama Mansour Frhan Al Omari, 20 Asem Sharaf Mahmoud Alqudah

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee
Ning Ma (China)

Assistant Referees
Yuxin Mu (China), Kok Heng Lim (Singapore)

Fourth Official
Sivakorn Pu Udom (Thailand)

BOOKINGS

Yellow Cards
26′ Omar Ahmad Mustafa Almanasrah (Jordan)
29′ Robin Singh (India)
36′ Sunil Chhetri (India)
53′ Sameer Maher Raja Suleiman (Jordan)
56′ Narayan Das (India)

Yellow-Red Cards
none

Red Cards
none

AIFF Match Report

India U-23 Men’s campaign in the Incheon Asian Games ended as they went down 0-2 to a superior Jordan side in the final Group G encounter at the Munhak Stadium in Incheon on Monday (September 22, 2014).

India had earlier lost their opening encounter against United Arab Emirates (UAE) 0-5.

Jordan who had fielded their U-21 side in the Competition rode on goals from Albashtawi Subhi Drzi and Thalji Yousef to seal the issue.

The twice Asian Games gold medallists looked grittier of the two in the initial exchanges. Seminlen Doungel – starting in place of Mandar Rao Desai – cantered some 40 yards down the left channel but his last touch let him down with the ball rolling out for a goal-kick.

East Bengal’s Lalrindika Ralte was the other change ringed in by Coach Wim Koevermans from the last game against UAE.

Jordan goalkeeper Abunabhan made a hash of Robin Singh’s teasing effort from just outside the box moments later, somehow latching on to the ball at the end. The intent was clear from India who had nothing to lose.

Robin then forced the keeper to another save before Jordan took the lead. Striker Albashtawi smashed home on the rebound after India custodian Amrinder Singh showed superb reflexes to parry away Israiwah’s initial effort from distance.

India’s best chance of the half came from Sunil Chhetri’s snapshot that almost kissed the post on its way out. Jordan closed the half better and their noses ahead.

The second half started on a similar note but there were very few goalmouth moments until Robin powered a shot from 25 yards but goalkeeper got enough behind it to keep him at bay.

Moments later, the red shirts doubled their lead. A cutback from the right found Thalji at the far post and he took two touches to first turn Pritam Kotal inside out and then smash the ball past Amrinder at his near post.