India were four minutes away from holding a technically-superior Bahrain to a goalless draw before conceding from the spot.Sandesh Jhingan cried the night India lost 5-2 to Bahrain last time the two teams met in the Asian Cup, coincidentally on January 14 eight years ago. On Monday, it ended in tears once again for the defender after his heroics went in vain as India conceded an injury-time penalty to lose 1-0 and get knocked out of the Asian Cup. Moments after the match, India coach Stephen Constantine announced he will ‘move on’. The Englishman, who took charge in January 2015, had his contract up for renewal after the Asian Cup. However, he said, he will not seek an extension.
India were just four minutes away from scripting history, somehow holding a technically-superior Bahrain to a goalless draw when the match entered stoppage time. However, captain Pronay Halder made a late challenge on a Bahrain forward inside the box and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. Jamal Rashed beat goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from the spot and with hosts UAE and Thailand playing out a 1-1 draw in the other Pool A match, India’s campaign ended with a whimper. A win would have ensured India’s progress into the Round of 16 for the first time; a draw could’ve kept them in contention. But after dishing out surprisingly attacking football in the first two games they dug their own grave by returning to the old ways of playing ultra-defensive football, which ultimately scripted their downfall. India’s intent was evident one hour before the kick off, when the line-ups were announced. Coach Constantine sacrificed the creativity of Anirudh Thapa for Rowlinn Borges, a defensive midfielder. That change showed that India were keen to avoid a defeat, rather than going all out for a win although Constantine would insist otherwise.
But just 90 seconds into the match, India were dealt a huge blow after defender Anas Edathodika, who had his right knee strapped going into the match, asked to be substituted. On the touchline, Constantine didn’t look too amused. Edathodika and Jhingan have been his go-to central defensive pairing for a major part of the last two years and been crucial to the recent surge of the national team.
East Bengal’s Salam Ranjan Singh – the only player from the I-League in the 23-man squad – was brought on but with Edathodika gone, the responsibility to keep the defence together fell squarely on Jhingan. The early setback seemed to have an impact on the team, which looked deeply unsettled. Bahrain attacked from the left, right and centre; working their way into the box by creating triangles and passing it quick. Midfielder Ali Madan and forward Mohamed Saad Alromaihi were creating trouble, not afraid to take shots from a distance and test a shaky Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
India, somehow, survived the opening 20 minutes, thanks largely to Jhingan. The defender has had an iffy few months with the national team and his club Kerala Blasters, but he was everywhere in the defence on Monday – making last-ditch challenges, winning aerial battles, clearing crosses and virtually marking Alromaihi out of the game. India settled into the game, but weren’t playing in the free-flowing manner like they did against Thailand and UAE. They conceded the ball too easily in the midfield. Borges added stability defensively but wasn’t able to distribute the ball as efficiently as Thapa while Udanta Singh was barely given any space to run down the right.
Halder, wearing the captain’s arm band, was leading by example. Halder, playing only his 14th match for the national team, was winning the midfield battles and controlling play. With Udanta blocked, the few moves that India could manage came from him and Halicharan Narzary, who looked dangerous on the left. Sunil Chhetri and Ashique Kurniyan tried to work his way into empty spaces, but India were just not able to keep possession.
The second half followed a similar pattern, as India played with all 11 men in their own area. They couldn’t manage a single shot on target. Bahrain, needing a win to secure progress, piled up pressure as the match wore on. Ultimately, their perseverance paid off.
