India begin Intercontinental Cup campaign with win against Mongolia

BHUBANESWAR: India notched an easy 2-0 win against Mongolia to begin its Intercontinental Cup on a confident note at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar on Friday. The host could have produced a bigger margin of a win but failed to find the finishing that it had managed in the first-half

India established its superiority right in the second minute when Sahal Abdul Samad bulged the net with an angular finish following up an Anirudh Thapa cross that was partially cleared by the Mongolian goalkeeper Enkhtaivan. This set the tempo for the next half an hour as India utilised the flanks to pin the Mongolians back in their defence.

The host was rewarded for its efforts in the 14th minute when Thapa, from the corner, set the ball right in the middle of the opposition box. Sandesh Jinghan replied with a sharp header just to find the Mongolian midfielder Batbold guarding the goalmouth. The clearance was availed by Lallianzuala Chhangte, who was in the right position to slot it home. With its opponent not getting much in the way of attack, the Indian resolve seemed to flag a bit after the second goal. This perhaps came from a realisation of preserving their energies as the players found it difficult in the sweltering conditions prevailing at the venue.

The second half could have seen the Indian scoreline going up but for the lack of alertness of its attackers. The host had two clear chances in the final quarter of the action involving its substitutes as Stimac chose to bring in fresh legs midway through the second half. Agencies

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