Late heartburn for India in their Women’s Asian Cup opener

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New Delhi: Loads of pluck and a slice of luck nearly made India‘s start to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign memorable, but in the end it wasn’t enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat against Vietnam in Perth on Wednesday.

Once Sanfida Nongrum had equalised on 52 minutes after NT Van Su put Vietnam ahead at the half hour mark, it seemed India had done enough to snatch a point from their opponents ranked 31 slots above in the FIFA rankings.

Considering it the team’s first competitive match under coach Amelie Valverde and a jersey fiasco on eve of their opening game, a point would have been more like a win for the 67th ranked Indians.

But in the fourth of seven added minutes, Vietnam’s greater depth in quality combined with India’s inexperience in how to close out matches turned out to be telling as Van Su made most of space afforded to her inside the box with her left footer, having used her right leg to curl the ball into the top corner in the first half.

When they trailed, it seemed India have a lot of catching up to do. But two substitutes at half time along with a tactical switch for Manisha Kalyan helped India not only get a foothold in the action but also pull level.

For the better part of the first half, India had to either chase or defend with their high backline susceptible to getting caught off guard.

Keeper Panthoi Chanu’s alertness denied the mobile Vietnamese players as the Indians couldn’t hold onto the ball long enough to make meaningful strides in the opposition box.

Their only outlet was through Manisha, initially deployed on the left flank, where she was increasingly double marked as the match went on.

With India not finding a footing in the centre of the pitch, Kalyan was told to operate from the centre of the pitch, more like a centre forward who can chest down the long punts from deep inside India’s half.

Turnaround in 2nd half

It gave India some breathing space but not enough meat upfront to hurt Vietnam, when a stroke a luck gave them a footing in the game.

Three minutes after restart, Vietnam had thought they had doubled their lead when T Thi Thao bundled the ball in after a scramble in the goalline.

But the goal was chalked off after a VAR check that ruled the NT Thanh Nha had handled the cross while attempting to put it in the net, turning the tide of the proceedings.

Valverde had brought on Nongrum and Rimpa Haldar to add more bite in India’s attack. It worked wonders soon as Nongrum latched onto a faulty clearance to slam home from close range.

From then on India fought toe to toe and never looked like conceding until the dying stages when Vietnam squeezed one decent opening from the left flank for NT Van Su to break India’s heart.