BHUBANESWAR
India missed the chances that came their way to settle for a goalless draw with Lebanon in the Intercontinental Cup football tournament here on Thursday.
Continuing with his policy to make wholesome changes to his starting XI, head coach Igor Stimac benched a number of seniors including striker Sunil Chhetri and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Defensive linchpin Sandesh Jhingan wore the captain's armband in Chhetri's absence.
The result however did not matter as both teams had already sealed their places in the final of the four-nation tournament. Mongolia and Vanuatu were the two other teams taking part in the event.
Introduced in the 82nd minute, Chhetri received a perfect delivery from Anirudh Thapa but the India captain could not find the back of the net.
It would have been 1-0 India within the first five minutes of the game but, after being set up by Lallianzuala Chhangte and with just the opposition goalkeeper to beat, Anirudh Thapa missed a sitter on the fourth minute. All he could do was shoot the ball away.
Then, almost 20 minutes into the match, another chance was wasted as Ashique Kuruniyan hit the ball straight to the Lebanese goalkeeper after a good ball inside the box.
The two missed chances from India meant the teams went into the half-time break goalless.
It pretty much continued in the same way in the second half, which also saw the floodlights going off for a couple of minutes, as both teams failed to failed to find the target.
Hoping to break the deadlock, both India and Lebanon rang in a few changes, but to no avail as the score remained unchanged till the final whistle.
India had kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Mongolia last Friday before beating Vanuatu 1-0 three days later on Monday.
Lebanon too had started with a victory, beating Vanuatu 3-1 before playing out a goalless draw against Mongolia on Monday.
Vanuatu log full points
BHUBANESWAR: Vanuatu edged out Mongolia 1-0 to end their Intercontinental Cup campaign on a positive note at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
Seconds into the second half, Vanuatu took the lead when Mongolia's Gantuya Gantogtokh accidentally put the ball in his own goal while attempting to clear it after Godin Tenene dribbled past the Mongolian defenders from the left flank to cross inside the penalty box.
After conceding the goal, Mongolia charged forward in numbers to find the equaliser, but to no avail.
While Vanuatu finished with three points from as many matches, Mongolia have only one point to show from their drawn outing against Lebanon. The result also ensured Lebanon's place in the final against India to be played on Sunday.
Continuing with his policy to make wholesome changes to his starting XI, head coach Igor Stimac benched a number of seniors including striker Sunil Chhetri and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Defensive linchpin Sandesh Jhingan wore the captain's armband in Chhetri's absence.
The result however did not matter as both teams had already sealed their places in the final of the four-nation tournament. Mongolia and Vanuatu were the two other teams taking part in the event.
Introduced in the 82nd minute, Chhetri received a perfect delivery from Anirudh Thapa but the India captain could not find the back of the net.
It would have been 1-0 India within the first five minutes of the game but, after being set up by Lallianzuala Chhangte and with just the opposition goalkeeper to beat, Anirudh Thapa missed a sitter on the fourth minute. All he could do was shoot the ball away.
Then, almost 20 minutes into the match, another chance was wasted as Ashique Kuruniyan hit the ball straight to the Lebanese goalkeeper after a good ball inside the box.
The two missed chances from India meant the teams went into the half-time break goalless.
It pretty much continued in the same way in the second half, which also saw the floodlights going off for a couple of minutes, as both teams failed to failed to find the target.
Hoping to break the deadlock, both India and Lebanon rang in a few changes, but to no avail as the score remained unchanged till the final whistle.
India had kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over Mongolia last Friday before beating Vanuatu 1-0 three days later on Monday.
Lebanon too had started with a victory, beating Vanuatu 3-1 before playing out a goalless draw against Mongolia on Monday.
Vanuatu log full points
BHUBANESWAR: Vanuatu edged out Mongolia 1-0 to end their Intercontinental Cup campaign on a positive note at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
Seconds into the second half, Vanuatu took the lead when Mongolia's Gantuya Gantogtokh accidentally put the ball in his own goal while attempting to clear it after Godin Tenene dribbled past the Mongolian defenders from the left flank to cross inside the penalty box.
After conceding the goal, Mongolia charged forward in numbers to find the equaliser, but to no avail.
While Vanuatu finished with three points from as many matches, Mongolia have only one point to show from their drawn outing against Lebanon. The result also ensured Lebanon's place in the final against India to be played on Sunday.
