India lose 1-2 to Jordan in international football friendly
AIFF
India was defeated by Jordan by a margin of 1-2 in an international friendly match played at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman yesterday. Amer Shafi and Ihsan Haddad scored one each for the home side while Nishu Kumar scored the only one for India who played without Sunil Chhetri.
Leading the side in the absence of Chhetri, goalie Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was forced into action when the referee awarded the home team a penalty following a handball by Pritam Kotal. Bani Atiyeh’s kick was saved by the Indian custodian to give India a positive start in the game. However, Jordan managed to take a lead in the 25th minute when Sandhu failed to judge the flight on opposition goalie Shafi’s kick and the ball bounced in front of him to go into the post.
Faisal got a chance for the hosts again in the first half but that went in vain as India continued to trail by a goal at the end of first 45 minutes in Amman.Â
Jordan started with an attacking intent in the second half of the game and they doubled their lead in the 59th minute with Ihasn Haddad’s excellent counter-attacking move after Anirudh Thapa’s corner went down begging for the visitors.
Head Coach Stephen Constantine then brought in young Nishu Kumar in place of Jackichand Singh and the debutant managed to score the only goal for India in the 61st minute of the match. He nailed the ball into the back of the net after getting a low cross from Germanpreet Singh to reduce the difference and ensure a dream debut in the senior national team.Â
Thapa’s attempt in the 81st minute hit a Jordan defender on the way inside the box while Pranoy Halder failed to score the
The Indians were forced to play without experienced strikers Jeje Lalpekhlua and Balwant Singh and the two regular wingers – Udanta Singh and Halicharan Narzary as they failed to recover after their hectic travel to Amman. They had a 32-hour halt at the Kuwait International Airport after air traffic was suspended because of thunderstorms and torrential rain.
