A first half strike by Robin Singh gave India 1-0 win over Guam at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. Constantine's men savoured an important win after being reduced to ten-men when Sehnaj Singh was sent off in the 41st minute
Agencies
Bengaluru
India secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. Robin Singh (10') solitary strike was the difference as India had to battle their way to victory after being reduced to ten-men when Sehnaj Singh was sent off in the 41st minute.
Stephen Constantine made five changes to the team which lost 3-0 to Oman in Muscat. Eugeneson Lyngdoh was back in contention after serving his suspension. Sehnaj Singh, Robin Singh, Pritam Kotal and Romeo Fernandes were included in the starting eleven.
On the other hand, Gary White brought in AJ DeLaGarza and Marcus Lopez into the first eleven from the team which went down 1-0 to Turkmenistan.
India had the first shot on target in the sixth minute when Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s deflected effort from the edge of the box went straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.
The breakthrough came as early as in the 10th minute. A long ball by Gurpreet saw Chhetri get on the end of it and his first time left footed pass found Robin Singh. The Delhi Dynamos striker did well to get past the defender and finish into the far corner with his weak right foot.
India were happy to sit back and absorb pressure as Guam threw players into the opposition half. Ryan Guy cut in from the left and had an effort on target but Gurpreet wasn’t troubled.
Lyngdoh had another attempt from outside the box when Chhetri laid it for him but his effort sailed over the bar in the 20th minute.
Shane Malcom’s cross from the left could have resulted in an own goal as Arnab Mondal’s header caught Gurpreet off his line who had to palm it for a corner. From the ensuing set-piece which wasn’t cleared well, the ball fell for Guy whose left footed fierce drive was blocked and went out for a corner.
India should have doubled their lead in the 26th minute as Lyngdoh’s corner-kick saw Mondal miss the header despite being in an unmarked position. The ball eventually fell for Sandesh Jhinghan who couldn’t direct his effort on target.
Jhingan put in a timely tackle to deny DeLaGarza just as the LA Galaxy defender was lining up a shot in the 39th minute. In the very next move, Shawn Nicklaw’s floater from a set-piece saw Guy rise highest and his header missed the far corner in the 40th minute.
However, India were man down as referee Jarred Gillett sent-off Sehnaj Singh for a poor tackle on Justin David as he lunged on the Guam midfielder's ankle.
At the start of the second half, Constantine introduced Harmanjot Khabra for Romeo Fernandes in order to add more steel to the midfield.
Mason’s free header from a Nicklaw corner-kick eight minutes after the break saw Gurpreet get down to make a save.
The visitors were looking to make their man advantage count as they kept initiating attacks while India struggled to keep hold of the ball. Mondal made a good sliding pass to deny Shane Malcolm a chance to shoot from inside the box.
Just after the hour mark, Robin’s shot on the turn didn’t have enough power behind it and Douglas Herrick in goal wasn’t troubled.
Chhetri was through on goal but Herrick did well smother the ball off the striker’s feet in the 72nd minute. This was after Chhetri chested a long ball and combined well with Jeje to create the chance. A minute later, Lobo and Khabra exchanged a one-two before the latter’s left footed shot was only India’s second shot on target in the second half.
Guam were restricted to shots from outside the box as DeLaGarza laid it for Marcus Lopez but his tame effort was collected by Gurpreet. The Indian goalkeeper was called into action in the 76th minute when Brandon Marquee’s shot from range took a wicked deflection off Jhingan and the Indian custodian dived to his left to concede a corner.
India survived a scare in the 77th minute when Guy finally scored from the following corner but the linesman raised his flag as the initial delivery from the set-piece had gone behind before being curled back into play.
Lopez should have done better when he was through on goal from a Guy pass but his final shot went sailing over the bar in the 80th minute.
Chhetri made a driving run from the left and after exchanging a pass with Jeje, he made his way into the box and his left footed angled shot drew a save from Herrick.
The Indian skipper, who was an excellent outlet in attack, came close to scoring a few minutes later again as he found space on the left and his right footed shot missed the far corner by a few inches as the goalkeeper remained stranded.
Gurpreet then made a point-blank save at the far post in the dying moments to maintain a clean sheet and protect his side's slender lead as the game ended in favour of the hosts. The win was the first for India in the qualifying campaign.
