Equals for 50 minutes, India lose to No. 25 Oz

AL RAYYAN, January 13

A physical Australia side, ranked world No. 25, dominated India to win their AFC Asian Cup Group B opener 2-0 today in front of a crowd largely made up of Indian fans at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

After a cagey opening 45 minutes, Australia got on the board through Jackson Irvine before Jordan Bos made it 2-0 seconds after coming on as a substitute.

The encounter felt almost like a home game for India with the crowd at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium largely made up of fans from the Indian diaspora in Doha and they made their presence felt, roaring the team on despite Australia’s early dominance.

But after being shut out in the first half, Australia silenced the crowd with the opening goal soon after the break. Their second deflated both the Indian team and the arena.

“The excitement of the first game (of the Asian Cup) got to the players in the first half,” Australia’s coach Graham Arnold said. “At halftime, we discussed where we could hurt India and calmed them down. We told them, ‘Just be patient and it will come’.”

The match also saw Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita become the first woman referee to officiate a men’s Asian Cup encounter, with assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi making it an all-female trio.

Spurred on by the crowd, Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri missed a golden opportunity when he sent a header wide, but Australia turned the screws thereafter and controlled possession as India rarely managed to venture out of their own half. — Reuters