Football: India men fall to NZ in Christchurch friendly

Christchurch: The Indian men’s national team went down 0-3 to New Zealand in their second international friendly of the November window at the One New Zealand Stadium here on Sunday.

India held firm under sustained early pressure from the hosts before Finn Surman broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute. New Zealand then built on their lead before the interval, with James McGarry doubling it in the 40th minute and Chris Wood adding another three minutes later to seal a 3-0 victory for the hosts.

The All Whites controlled possession from the opening whistle, keeping India pinned deep inside their own half. On a day that saw Ryan Williams captain India for the first time, India head coach Khalid Jamil made five changes to his starting XI from the first friendly — handing starts to Ashique Kuruniyan, Jay Gupta, Mehtab Singh, Mohammed Sanan and Roshan Singh Naorem, AIFF reports.

With the changes came a shift in approach, as India lined up in a compact shape with a five-man backline, with Roshan Singh Naorem and Abhishek Singh Tekcham operating as the left and right full-backs, respectively.

Darren Bazeley’s side posed an early threat in the ninth minute when a left-sided cross picked out captain Chris Wood inside the box, but Vishal Kaith comfortably collected the effort. New Zealand kept probing, with India’s defence repeatedly repelling wave after wave of attacks before the breakthrough came in the 22nd minute.

Callum McCowatt’s corner from the left picked out Finn Surman inside the box, and the defender headed home to give New Zealand the lead. Kaith was kept busy in the aftermath, punching away a Francis De Vries effort before producing another alert save to palm a dangerous Jesse Randall cross over the bar.

India tried to build their way back through Manvir Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan and Williams, but struggled to create a clear opening as New Zealand remained in control. The hosts went on to double their advantage in the 40th minute when James McGarry timed his run onto Owen Parker-Price’s pass before slotting home.

The hosts struck again three minutes later. Matthew Garbett and Randall combined, delivering a cross to Wood inside the box, whose effort off his shin found its way into the net. Kaith was called into action again in the 44th minute, producing a fine save to punch away Wood’s header from a McCowatt free-kick from the left, but India went into half-time trailing 0-3.

Head coach Jamil then made three changes at the break, with Bijoy Varghese, Pramveer and debutant goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari coming on.

Tiwari was quickly called into action and made a confident start between the posts. In the 55th minute, he got down well to deny McCowatt’s effort from the middle, before calmly collecting De Vries’ follow-up from inside the box.

Just before the hour mark, India brought on more fresh legs, with Lalrinliana Hnamte, Muhammad Suhail, Liston Colaco and Tomba Singh Haobam coming on.

India did find an opportunity in the 81st minute when Tomba and Hnamte combined to release Liston, but his long-range effort sailed over the crossbar. Mehtab later took over the captain’s armband after Williams made way for Lalremtluanga Fanai.

New Zealand came close to a fourth in the 86th minute when Lachlan Bayliss burst into the box, drew Tiwari off his line, and cut the ball back. Alex Rufer was eventually found on the right and headed toward goal, but an alert Bijoy Varghese came to India’s rescue with a crucial goal-line clearance, preventing New Zealand from adding to their tally.

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