India sink Mauritius with second half goals in U-17 friendly

Panaji: Coach Luis Norton de Matos made eight changes at the start of the second half and replaced all his outfield players who started the game as India warmed up for the Fifa U-17 World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Mauritius at the Nagoa ground in South Goa on Thursday.

India’s inability to break the deadlock had caused some discomfort in the Indian dressing room at half-time. Matos, throwing almost every available player into action before he decides on his final squad, made sweeping changes in the second half and the fresh legs delivered.

Boris Singh opened the scoring in the 68th minute before late goals from Saurabh Meher (82nd) and Aniket Jadhav (90th) added gloss to the scoreline.

It wasn’t really the performance that Matos expected from India but it did give the U-17 team its first international win on home soil, never mind the friendliness of this contest. Mauritius – arriving here less than 48 hours earlier with a largely under-16 squad -- weren’t as fresh as their Indian counterparts and appeared to be in a hurry to catch their flight back home.

“I think we did quite well. Considering we had a long flight, not enough rest and the humidity here, we did well not to concede any goal in the first 45 minutes. All goals came late in the match,” said Mauritius manager John Lan. The Mauritius squad, Lan said, had just four Under-17 players while most were a year or two younger.

For the home side, there were positives. Boris, Suresh Singh, Ninthoinganba Meetei and even Aniket Jadhav looked a cut above their opponents in the second half, while Anwar Ali and Mohammad Rakip’s partnership at the back looked assured.

The goals were well-worked too. Boris and Suresh combined for the opening goal from inside the danger zone and Saurabh made everyone sit up and take notice with a classy finish from outside the box for the second. Boris left several defenders in his trail and laid the ball on a platter for Aniket to add his name to the scoresheet, despite mistiming his shot.