(Bishkek): India proved second best on the day and lost to Kyrgyz Republic in 2018 Asian Cup qualifier match in a packed house here, which also meant that India’s 13 match winning streak comes to an end. The world ranked 99, Indian team lost 1-2 to world ranked 115, Kyrgyz Republic. This was a dead rubber and both the teams are still going to UAE in 2019 for the Asian Cup.
In the soaring cold temperature of 5’c, Kyrgyzstan brought warmth to their fans within the first two minutes of the match, as India were strangled by a quick counter-attack and made life hard for Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to make a move before the ball from Anton Zemlianukhin was snugged into the back of the net, to give hosts an early lead. He did manage to save on some occasions and prevented any more damage before the half time whistle.
India created some attack after the half time as their quest to find a goal continued, however the host had some other plans as Murzaev fired a shot at the bottom corner on counter in the 73′ minute, to give a 2-0 lead to his side. Kyrgyzstan was threatening to top the table with a 2-0 scoreline but a consolatory goal by Chennaiyin FC man Jeje Lalpekhlua in the 87th minute denied them the feat. Halicharan Narzary’s cross from the left was headed into the net by Lalpekhlua but it was too little too late. India lost the match but will be content with their top spot finish in group A with 13 points.
Our take
The Stephen Constantine coached team certainly missed the services of their captain and forward Sunil Chhetri as Indian forward line comprising some of the young faces, failed to make a mark and get their names on the score sheet. Jeje and Balwant Singh did their best to win India its last group stage encounter but it proved way too little to stop the Kyrgyz who were coming from back of a dominating 5-1 victory over Myanmar.
