India fall to soulful Tanzania

Vasco: India kicked off their second-round match of the AIFF Super Cup (U-16) football against Tanzania with a roar, packing their game with pace and panache. But that electrifying moment – the first 10 minutes – turned out to be just a flash in the pan as the African nation came into their own to snuff out the challenge of the hosts with a clinical display of pace, power and finesse. They stamped their class with three impressive strikes as the Indian colts eventually ran out of steam to succumb to a 1-3 defeat at the Tilak Maidan on Tuesday.It turned out to be a learning curve for the Indian colts. The Tanzanians not only matched them for pace but were slick in their passing, exploiting spaces from flank to flank, producing a soulful performance with rhythm, flair and a hot pace to demolish a fighting Indian defence.India lost the plot early in the match after surviving an early attack when goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz brought off a fine save to deny the skillful Asad Ali Juma in the ninth minute.The home side retaliated two minutes later when Meetei sent Boris Singh’s pass to the left of the goal but ’keeper Ramadhani Alw Kabwili pulled of a diving save.Then two strikes within a span of nine minutes saw the Indian citadel fall apart. First, in the 19th minute, Maziku Amede Amani Ngawembele picked up a long ball on the right of the box, positioned himself and unleashed a cracker that beat Nawaz. Then in the 27th, India’s most impressive defender Sarif Khan, in an attempt to clear Nicson Clement Kibabage’s sharp grounder, deflected into his own goal to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.After a short water break at the half-hour mark, India struck back in the 36th minute. Jadhav sent Meetei’s through across the goalmouth. The ball went off goalkeeper Ramadhani’s hands to Komal Thatal who made no mistake to make it 1-2 before halftime.Juma struck soon after resumption with a freekick from the top left of the box that saw the ball rise above the outstretched hands of India goalkeeper Nawaz and suddenly dip into goal.Thereafter, it was Tanzania most of the way. They cleverly used the body tackle that often escaped the eye of referee Akash Jackson Routh who often showed signs of mediocrity and fell foul of India coach Adam Nicolai who received marching orders for a verbal altercation with the fourth official.You don’t win matches when you often lose mid-air duels, ball possession, 50-50 balls, make wrong passes and leave yawning gaps in midfield. Moreover, the Indian youngsters often took the aerial route and fell short to the taller Tanzanians.The hosts, however, almost salvaged a point but twice misfired with the goalkeeper helpless.“My boys played well. This was a difficult game. We took points from the India match against Malaysia and accordingly planned our strategy. The Indian team is tactically very strong but we beat them on fitness and pace as they tired towards the closing stages,” said Tanzania coach Bakari Nyundo Shime.“We trust and believe in the boys. This is a learning curve for them and though they did not play so good, they are gradually getting into a rhythm after taking a month-long break. They will only get better as they get used to the pressure of playing in front of their home crowd,” said India assistant coach Etibar Nizami Ibrahimov.