VIDEO: Warriors FC vs Churchill Brothers Reactions

Here the reactions from the Warriors FC coach V. Selvaraj and Churchill Brothers Technical Director Subhas Bhowmick after yesterday's AFC Cup match in Singapore.

AFC Cup: Own goal costs Churchill Brothers a draw in Singapore

I-League table toppers Churchill Brothers SC suffered a one goal loess to Warriors FC in their Round 4 match of the AFC Cup at the Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday night. The result preserved the Singapore club's slender hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage and extended the away woes of the Red Machines while also confirming the passage of Indonesian champions Semen Padang to the last 16 of the AFC Cup.

Semen, who beat Hong Kong side Kitchee 3-1 earlier on Wednesday, lead the group with 10 points, four ahead of Kitchee, six in front of Churchill Brothers and seven ahead of Warriors, with two games left. With Kitchee and Churchill Brother meeting in Pune in two weeks from now, the Indonesian side are assured of finishing in the top two.

The early momentum was with the home team, however, as they created two inviting chances in the opening five minutes, although goalkeeper Sandip Nandy was not tested on either occasion. The 38-year-old was however called into action on 23 minutes when he had to smother a shot from the right flank by Warriors midfielder Tatsuro Inui, who had earlier seen his free kick take a big deflection away from goal. Churchill Brothers stepped up their game thereafter, as Steven Dias and Ashley Fernandes had a number of opportunities to test former Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny.

But a failure to make those opportunities count haunted the Indian outfit, and after lightning caused a 30-minute delay to the start of the second half, they fell behind following some intense pressure from the Singapore Cup holders. Ruzaini Zainal led a counter-attack on the right for the Warriors on 53 minutes and sent over a cross which was intended for Mislav Karoglan but steered by Dharmaraj Ravanan into his own net instead.

It could have been 2-0 to the home side five minutes later as Inui dinked a shot from the left, only to see Nandy push his attempt away. Gabonese forward Henri Antchouet had the best chance to send Churchill Brothers level when he failed to connect with Arezou's square ball from the left on 65 minutes. Substitute Jaison Vales and Sunil Chhetri also had their opportunities, but their misses meant the I-League side were unable to salvage a point.

“With the players missing all those chances we had, we had to pay the price," admitted Churchill Brothers technical director Subhas Bhowmick.

"I am not disappointed, nor am I surprised. I had already said yesterday I would not be surprised if something bad happened in this match, but we have some very serious business back home in our league."

Warriors coach V. Selvaraj was meanwhile heartened to see his team clock their first win in the AFC Cup this year, adding that he still believes his team can reach the knockout stage.

"I think this win is very important to us," said the 42-year-old.

"The boys are starting to believe in themselves a lot more again, so I think they deserve this win. A win by an own goal is still a win for us; we created a few other chances, and the final score of 1-0 is what matters."

VIDEO: East Bengal 2-1 Tampines Rovers

East Bengal yesterday won 2-1 against Singapore side Tampines Rovers in the AFC Cup Group H at the Saltlake Stadium. Here the footage from News Time Bangla!

AFC Cup: East Bengal win 2-1 against Tampines Rovers, close in on Round of 16

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club scored another victory against Tampines Rover, this time a 2-1 win in their fourth AFC Cup Group H match at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata this afternoon. With this win the red-and-gold moved to 10 points from four matches.

Chidi Edeh came on early for an injured Andrew Barisic, who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with his second goal of the campaign only for Mohamad Shaiful Esah to pull Tampines level on 68 minutes, but winger Lalrindika Ralte scored the winger with four minutes to go for a deserving win.

"We are now favourably placed for qualification and hopefully we can achieve that in our next match," said East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan. "The heat had a bearing on the pace of the match which was much slower than the pace in Singapore."

With Tampines unable to advance to the knockout stage after suffering a third defeat in Group H, East Bengal will secure a place in the Round of 16 in the next round as Malaysia's Selangor beat Vietnam's Sai Gon Xuan Thanh later on Tuesday, which puts East Bengal top of the group.

"The deserving team won and I would like to wish him all the best for the next round," said Tampines coach Nenad Bacina. "As we do not have any chance of qualification, we will concentrate on the S.League from now on."


East Bengal Club
1-Abhijit Mondal - 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra, 16-Gurwinder Singh), 2-Raju Eknath Gaikwad, 29-Saumik Dey - 15-Sanju Pradhan [C] (81' 24-Cavin Lobo), 14-Mehtab Hossain, 18-Penn Ikechukwu Orji, 21-Lalrindika Ralte - 26-Manandeep Singh (67' 6-Baljit Singh Sahni), 27-Andrew Barisic (15' 10-Chidi Edeh)

AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers hope for another Warrior FC victory

I-League leaders Churchill Brothers SC face Singapore side Warrior FC (formerly Singapore Armed Forces) in their Group E Round 4 match of the AFC Cup at the Jalan Besar Stadium tomorrow at 7.45pm Singapore local.

After they beat the same opponent last week 3-0 in Pune, Churchill Brothers maintain a chance to reach the pre-quarterfinals as they case the groups top two sides Semen Padang and Kitchee SC. Another won or even a draw would be useless in the Red Machines ambitions.

Churchill Brothers Technical Director Subhas Bhowmick said, "We have important matches coming up in our domestic league. To be honest we haven't played a full strength squad in any of our AFC Cup matches since our first target is to win the I-League. The boys are proud to represent their country in such a prestigious continental tournament, but we have to maintain a balance so as to not hamper our chances ofwinning the I League."

"I am very satisfied with the with our performance in the AFC Cup so far where we stand third with four points from three matches."

Ahead of the match the non-issuing of visas for Sunil Chhetri and Belal Arezou had been a topic. Speaking about the duo Subhas Bhowmick said, "Sunil Chhetri and Belal Arezou will be arriving tomorrow early morning, I will have to take a decision if they can start the match since there will be a lot of travel fatigue."

Churchill Brothers captain Dharmaraj Ravanan added, "We did beat the Warriors in Pune, however they are a good side and this is their home turf, we are expecting a different and difficult game here, our boys will give their best and hopefully we collect all three points."

Meanwhile Warriors FC coach V. Selvaraj said about the game, "It will be quiet different, I believe the result will be different too, the kick off timing is at 7:45pm compared to a 3pm kickoff in Pune. Some players are coming back from injury and thus I have more options."

"We have to get maximum points from the remaining three matches and hope that other teams drop points to make it past the group stage. I believe we are well prepared now and if we get a positive result, things will turn around."

Warrior FC captain Daniel Bennett added, "It is important that we get a result, the boys are positive, our group of boys are hardworking and I do believe we will turn around the result that we got in Pune."

Singapore finally grants Visa for Sunil Chhetri, Belal Arezou & Churchill Alemao

As reported earlier I-League side Churchill Brothers SC were set to miss club patron Churchill Alemao, India captain Sunil Chhetri and Afghanistan striker Belal Arezou in their upcoming AFC Cup match due to not being issued a Singapore visa, but today in the afternoon all three got their visas.

Churchill Brothers are set to play S-League side Warrior FC on Wednesday, April 10 at the Jalan Besar Stadium and the squad left for Singapore yesterday without their patron and their two strikers.

The club took the help of the All India Football Federation, who approached the Sports Authority of India to intervene and take up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs. SAI promptly took up the matter with the MEA and wrote a letter to Sukhgeet Kaur, deputy secretary, South Project, MEA.

After receiving the request from the SAI, Kaur got in touch with the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi and within few hours, sent back e-visa applications of Chhetri and Alemao to SAI; but Arezou being an Afghan national had to send more relevant documents but also got his visa.

Sunil had written on his Facebook Fanpage, "Just got the news that the visa has been issued,am flying to Singapore tomorrow along with belal n Churchill Alemao(owner)."

But in the end Sunil Chhetri and Belal Arezou left for Singapore tonight itself, while Churchill Alemao will join the squad tomorrow..

AFC Cup: East Bengal look to seal Pre-Quarterfinal spot tomorrow

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club are set to host Singapore side Tampines Rovers in their fourth AFC Cup Group H match tomorrow. The match would be played at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata with kick-off at 3.15pm IST.

After the red-and-golds 4-2 away win at the Jelan Besar Stadium in Singapore against the same opponent, they will look to add three more points to qualify for the knockout stages with the team looking to seal their place in the Round of 16.

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan said at the pre-match press conference, "We are in a good position in the Group and hope to qualify to Pre-Quarter Final. If we win it will be a massive step towards qualification."

And about the weather Trevor added, "The soaring temperatures and dry heat would have a bearing on both the teams even more on Tampines. The game would not be as fast as it was in Singapore."

Meanwhile Tampines Rovers Croatian coach Nenad Becina said about the turf and the weather, "We are not at a disadvantage with the astro turf as we are used to such surfaces back home. Hot weather would be a factor but it will affect both teams as the kick off is scheduled at 3.15 pm."

"Our midfield would be bolstered with the return of captain Mustafic Fahruddin. We don't have any special plans for thwarting the East Bengal strikers and midfielders and hope that lady luck which deserted us in Singapore will be back with us," Nenad Becina added.

Meanwhile Goalkeeper Sasa Dreven and winger Imran Sahib have been treated for knocks in training but both are expected to be ready for the game tomorrow.

No Singapore Visa for Sunil Chhetri, Belal Arezou & Churchill Alemao

Issuing Visas for footballers and officials playing in the continental AFC Cup is a growing problem across Asia as this time I-League side Churchill Brothers SC were hit as club patron Churchill Alemao, India captain Sunil Chhetri and Afghanistan striker Belal Arezou did not receive a visa on application for Singapore last week.

Churchill Brothers are supposed to play S-League side Warrior FC on Wednesday, April 10 at the Jalan Besar Stadium and the squad left for Singapore yesterday without their patron and their two strikers.

A club official told news agency PTI, "On Friday the club got a letter from Singapore Consulate in Mumbai that Chhetri, Arezou and Alemao will not be granted visas to travel to Singapore. The consulate gave no reason for the rejection. The players and Alemao will re-apply again."

As the unnamed club official stated no official reason was given by the Singapore Consulate in Mumbai on why the three were not given visas for the upcoming AFC Cup match in the city state.

If Sunil Chhetri and Belal Arezou are not granted visas for Singapore, then the Churchill Brothers prospects in the match and their qualification for the knockout stages would be hit significantly.

VIDEO: Tampines Rovers 2-4 East Bengal - Goals!

Here all the six goals of the AFC Cup Group H match match between Tampines Rovers (Singapore) against East Bengal Club, which ended 2-4 for the red-and-gold at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

VIDEO: Tampines Rovers vs East Bengal Post-Match reactions

Here the Singapore S-League video of the Post-Match reactions from today's Tampines Rovers vs East Bengal Club match in the AFC Cup Group H with statements from the two coaches.

AFC Cup: East Bengal score impressive 4-2 victory in Singapore

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club scored an impressive 4-2 victory against Tampines Rover in their third AFC Cup Group H match at the Jelan Besar Stadium in Singapore tonight.

With this away win East Bengal move to the top of Group H with now seven points from three matches and a one goal better goal difference then Sai Gon Xuan Thanh from Vietnam with Selangor from Malaysia and Tampines Rovers only on a point and an uphill task to move past the top two sides in the group and qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.

Tampines Rovers were chasing all three points to stay in contention for the knockout stage and they had the first chance after only four minutes when midfielder Shahdan Sulaiman skewed a shot wide from inside the penalty area. Then Khairul Amri saw his header saved by East Bengal goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal's foot after just 12 minutes, before a defender blocked another shot by the Singapore international striker shortly afterwards.

However, it was East Bengal who took the lead on 18 minutes when Tampines defender Anaz Hadee tried to clear the ball from a corner only to send it into his own net amid confusion inside the Tampines box. The Indian Federation Cup holders could have gone 2-0 up two minutes later but goalkeeper Sasa Dreven tipped Mehtab Hossain's 50-metre lob over the bar. But then Tampines levelled on 28 minutes when Serbian forward Sead Hadzibulic rose highest to head home off a diagonal lob from Shahdan, and the hosts looked set to press for more with their superior team play.

However, wasteful finishing by the reigning S.League champions kept the red-and-gold in the game, and striker Chidi Edeh played a central role as East Bengal scored two quick goals shortly after the hour mark. First Chidi showed alertness to chase down a ball on the right before he squared for Andrew Barisic to finish easily from two metres out on 62 minutes and then Chidi finished off a counter-attack led by compatriot Penn Orji two minutes later.

But the game was far from over then Amri pulled a goal back for Tampines within just 60 seconds of Chidi's goal to keep the score close, and Tampines brought on Jamil Ali and Aleksandar Duric in a bid to salvage a point. But East Bengal restored their two-goal cushion with three minutes to go, as Chidi played another ball on the right for Andrew Barisic to bundle home.

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan declared himself pleasantly surprised with the win, which put his team in a strong position to qualify, but stated he is not aiming to top the group. "We would have been happy with a point, but this was a very, very open game," said the Englishman.

"We've got a good start (in the competition), we've had seven points now and we've only played one home game. We'll be favourites to win our two remaining home games, with them being played in the hot afternoon in Calcutta."

"But I've never set goals for this team; it's impossible to set goals when we play in five or six competitions in a season. We'll just take things one game at a time."

Despite the defeat putting his team on the brink of AFC Cup elimination, Tampines Rovers head coach Nenad Bacina stressed the importance of staying upbeat for the return fixture in six days' time.

"I think we didn't deserve to lose by this scoreline, but congratulations to East Bengal, they took their chances. They were the better side tonight," said the Croatian.

"The players tried their best tonight, so there should be no regrets. The world will not stop because we lost a game, so we have to stay positive," Bacinas added.

In the end East Bengal won 4-2 against Tampines Rover and followed-up yesterday's Churchill Brothers 3-0 win against Warriors FC also from Singapore


East Bengal Club
1-Abhijit Mondal - 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra (73' 16-Gurwinder Singh), 2-Raju Eknath Gaikwad, 4-Uga Okpara, 29-Saumik Dey - 15-Sanju Pradhan [C], 14-Mehtab Hossain, 18-Penn Ikechukwu Orji, 21-Lalrindika Ralte (79' 12-Reisangmi Vashum) - 27-Andrew Barisic (90+2' 26-Manandeep Singh), 10-Chidi Edeh

VIDEO: Tampines Rovers vs East Bengal Preview

Here the Singapore S-League video preview of the Tampines Rovers vs East Bengal Club match in the AFC Cup Group H tomorrow with statements from the coaches and captains of both teams.

AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers win 3-0 against Warrior FC from Singapore

A depleted I-League side Churchill Brothers SC due to injuries and suspensions won 3-0 against Warriors FC from Singapore in their Round 3 match of the AFC Cup at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune this afternoon. The Red Machines put up a clinical performance against Warriors FC, who were hampered by the hot Pune weather.

Churchill Brothers head coach Mariano Dias said, "We played very well even though we were missing quiet a few of our first team players. This team believes in itself and the players played for each other."

The Warrior FC coach V. Selvaraj said, "We are disappointed with the result, the Churchill Brothers midfield was brilliant. We were disappointing in the first half, however I was happy with our performance in the second half."

The Goans went ahead in the 37th minute through a brilliant Jaison Vales right-footed strike from 20 yards out that left the Warriors goalkeeper Hassan Bin Abdullah Sunny stranded. And Churchill Brothers then doubled their lead just before the lemon break, when Sunil Chhetri found Bikramjit Singh inside the box, who tapped it past the keeper.

The red Machines then finished the game off in the 83rd minute, when a long ball by Dharmaraj Ravanan was pounced upon by Belal Arezou who unselfishly played it to Sunil Chhetri, who rounded the goalkeeper and scored, earning a huge round of applause by the sizeable number of fans that had turned up to watch the intriguing tie.

"We have a good chance to make it past the group stage, we have lost one, drawn one and won one. Our next match is in Singapore on the 10th of April and it will be a crucial game that we have to win," Mariano Dias said.

"I still believe that we can qualify for the knockout stages, we got three more games to go and I have faith in my team," V. Selvaraj said.

With regards to the congestion due to playing the domestic league and the AFC Cup, we take all matches seriously, however the standard of the AFC Cup is better than the I League," Mariano Dias added.

With their first win of the campaign, Churchill Brothers are on 4 points from 3 matches and back in contention for the place in the pre-quarterfinals. The Red Machines play the return tie in Singapore against Warriors FC on April 10.

Churchill Brothers
Felix D'Souza - Denzil Franco, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Naveen Kumar, Sanjay Balmuchu - Amandeep Singh (75' Israil Gurung), W. Tomba Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Jaison Vales (86' Biswajit Biswas) - Sunil Chhetri (88' Ajay Singh), Belal Arezou

AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers in must win match against Singapore side

I-League leaders Churchill Brothers SC will face Singapore side Warrior FC (formerly Singapore Armed Forces) in their Group E Round 3 match of the AFC Cup at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune tomorrow. After their opening round loss against Kitchee SC and the draw against Semen Padang, the Red Machines know that a win is necessary to keep their AFC Cup hopes alive.

At the pre-match press conference Churchill Brothers head coach Mariano Dias said, "We have injuries to deal with, Beto is surely out for three matches with a hamstring injury, also we are without Henri Antchouet, Bineesh Balan, Lenny Rodrigues, Steven Dias due to injuries. Lamine Tamba is serving a suspension after he picked up two yellow cards in the previous two matches."

"Every match is important for us, we cannot take any match lightly, the boys would go out their and give their best and I am hoping that we can collect all three points," Mariano added.

Wing-back Denzil Franco added, "The heat was unbearable, not easy to perform, this time its a much more difficult task with a young team because of the injuries, but we believe in each other and will give our best and lets hope for three points."

Warrior FC are in a somewhat similar situation as they lost both their matches in the AFC Cup this season against Semen Padang and Kitchee SC.

The Warrior FC coach V. Selvaraj said, "We have watched Churchill Brothers play against Kitchee, they are a very good team, we have to get our result and get three points. Sunil Chhetri is the one to look out for, he could be the main threat."

Warrior's captain Daniel Bennett added, "The two matches we played could have gone the other way, we let a lead slip in the match agains Kitchee SC, I believe there is not too much of a difference in quality between the teams in the league. We need a result and need to win, we have two teams that will be going all out for a victory."

"We have played in this tournament many times before, have made it past the group stages many times, we believe in this club and with our history we believe we can go through this year's group stage too."

"The boys are positive, we have our backs against the wall and will surely give our best to get a positive result in this match," Bennett ended.

Kick-off tomorrow at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune is at 3pm.

AFC Cup: East Bengal ready for Singapore match

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club are ready to head to Singapore for their third AFC Cup Group H match to face S-League toppers Tampines Rovers on Wednesday, April 3. The match would be played at the Jelan Besar Stadium in Singapore with kick-off at 7.45pm (Singapore local).

And after their opening day victory against Selangor FA from Malaysia and their follow-up draw against Xuan Thanh Sai Gon in Vietnam the red-and-gold would like to keep the momentum going in their quest to qualify for the tournaments pre-quarterfinals.

Tampine Rovers are coached by Croatian Nenad Bacina and are currently top of the S-League with five wins out of their first five matches.


EAST BENGAL CLUB

Goalkeepers
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Abhijit Mondal

Defenders
Uga Okpara, Gurwinder Singh, Raju Eknath Gaikwad, Saumik Dey, Robert Lalthalmuana

Midfielders
Sanju Pradhan (Captain), Ishfaq Ahmed, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Mehtab Hossein, Penn Orji, Lalrindika Ralte, Alvito D'Cunha

Strikers
Chidi Edeh, Andrew Barisic, Robin Singh, Baljit Singh Sahni

Officials
Trevor Morgan (Head Coach), Atanu Bhattacharya (Goalkeeper Coach), Rajesh Basak (Physiotherapist), Manish Banerjee (Manager)

Koevermans names India probables for Singapore friendly

Indian national football team Coach Wim Koevermans has named 31 probables for India's international friendly against Singapore scheduled on October 16 in Singapore. The final list of 20 players would be announced after the opening round of the I-League.

Koevermans has called-up all 20 players who were part of the 2012 Nehru Cup winning squad besides calling-up numerous players who had been part of the Nehru Cup probables. The surprise additions have been Air India defensive duo of Prateek Chowdhary and Mohanraj Pradeep.


INDIA Probables

Goalkeepers
Arindam Bhattacharya (Mohun Bagan AC), Subrata Pal (Prayag United SC), Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (Dempo SC), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar SC)

Defenders
Nirmal Chettri (Mohun Bagan AC), Prateek Chowdhary (Air India), Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers SC), Raju Eknath Gaikwad (East Bengal Club), Souvik Ghosh (Pailan Arrows), Nallappan Mohanraj (Pune FC), Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohun Bagan AC), Mohanraj Pradeep (Air India), Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh (Prayag United SC), Gurwinder Singh (East Bengal Club), Irungbam Khelemba Singh (Mohun Bagan AC)

Midfielders
Francis Fernandes (Salgaocar SC), Romeo Fernandes (Dempo SC), Alwyn George (Pailan Arrows), Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal Club), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar SC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Anthony Pereira (Dempo SC), Sanju Pradhan (East Bengal Club), Jewel Raja Sheikh (Mohun Bagan AC), Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal Club), Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC)

Forwards
Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Sunil Chhetri (Sporting Clube de Portugal 'B'), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Pune FC), Manandeep Singh (East Bengal Club), Robin Singh (East Bengal Club)

Officials
Wim Koevermans (Head Coach), Savio Medeira (Assistant Coach), Marcus Pacheco (Goalkeeping Coach)

MUPC Under-15 India-leg: Chandigarh Football Academy champions!

The Chandigarh Football Academy are the champions of the seventh edition of the Indian-leg of the Manchester United Premier Cup Under-15 tournament. In the final they beat PIFA from Mumbai 2-0 in extra-time through two goals from Samuel Lalmuanpuia at the Sesa Football Academy ground in Sirsaim, Goa.

Chandigarh Football Academy will now go on to represent India in the Southeast Asia qualifiers in Indonesia later this month to face teams from the host nation, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore with the winner of that tournament getting a place at the global finals in Manchester this summer.

This year the Indian-leg of the Manchester United Premier Cup Under-15 tournament was held under a new format. There were state qualifiers and then a North-East-Northeast Zone qualifiers played in Jamshedpur while the South-West teams played their championship in Goa. While Chandigarh Football Academy won the Jamshedpur-leg, it was PIFA who won in Goa.

"Over the years, Nike MUPC is serving as a platform to identify young talent. This is at the core of our brand to promote the sport," Nike marketing director Avinash Pant told the media.

Former India captain Baichung Bhutia, who was present at the finals, said the tournament will continue to be a platform for young footballers to showcase their talent and also for clubs to scout young talent.

Asian Games Football: India trash Singapore, move into Round of 16

The India Under-23 national team finally found their goal scoring boots in a 4-1 trashing of Singapore in their final 2010 Asian Games Group D match at the Huadu Stadium in Goungzhou, China. And with this win India have ensured that they are amongst the best four of the six third placed teams, which means India qualify for the Round of 16.

Though matches in three groups are set to be played only tomorrow India move on as other third placed teams aren't better then us and four of the six third-placed move into the Round of 16. The Maldives have only two points, while Uzbekistan have three points like India, but a negative goal difference of -1 while India have an even goal difference of +/- 0.

India took an early 13th minute lead through a Jewel Sheikh Raja freekick, but it was made easy by Singapore for the Bengali youngster. The wall just wasn't placed properly infront of the ball to block the freekick. Singapore could have equalised, but it remained 1-0 for India.

After the break an alert Balwant Singh scored India's second in the 62nd minute as he saw Singapore goalkeeper Muhammad Durimi way out of his goal, Balwant took a long range attempt which went in. Down by two goals Singapore was forced to open up to have any chance in the match and tournamnet, and this helped India as they utilised the space which they now got. Jibon Singh made it 3-0 for India in the 67th minute after a nice build-up and then Manish Maithani's shot made it four in the 75th minute. Singapore's Zhenlun Luo was only able to reduce the deficit in the 83rd minute as India scored a historic 4-1 victory against Singapore.

India coach Sukhvinder Singh was delighted with the win. He said afterwards, "It was a tough match, but my boys played well. Conditions were tough as we were playing our third match in five days with the same bunch of players. And we were only thinking of winning the match by a good margin. We were confident that if we play with the same enthusiasm that we displayed against defending champions Qatar we can win this match."

"Today my boys gave their best and all the goals were spectacular. Now we will get some rest before gearing up for the next stage," Sukhvinder added.

Who India's opponent will be in the Pre-Quarterfinals next week will be decided only after the last round of group matches tomorrow.


India Under-23

1-Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; 18-Denzil Franco, 4-Rowilson Rodrigues, 14-Dharmaraj Ravanan, 15-Lalrozama Fanai; 11-Joachim Abranches [C], 8-Manish Maithani, 23-Jewel Sheikh Raja, 12-K. Jibon Singh; 24-Jeje Lalpekhlua, 10-Balwant Singh
Substitutions: ??-Karanjit Singh, 2-Abhishek Das, 7-Milan Ongnam Singh, 9-Raju Gaikwad, 19-Subodh Kumar, 20-Lalrindika Ralte, 25-Malswamfela, 27-Jagtar Singh

Asian Games Football: Do or Die match for India

The India Under-23 team play their final Group D match tomorrow against Singapore in the 2010 Asian Games football tournament in Guangzhou, China. And after two losses against Kuwait and Qatar India only have a chance to progress to the Round of 16 if they are able to beat Singapore, otherwise their tournament would come to an end but even a win might not be enough to stay in the tournament.

Singapore meanwhile have a single point on the board after an opening day draw against Qatar, but against Kuwait they also suffered a loss like India. So we can expect an interesting match between the two sides, who both still have hopes of survival.

Coach Sukhvinder Singh will have to decide who to put in goal as Laxmikant Kattimani is out injured. Young Gurpreet Singh Sandhu looked shaky at times after coming on against Qatar, so Sukhi might use tried and tested Karanjit Singh, who has played under him at JCT for many years. Elsewhere Sukhvinder will have to replace Robert Lalthalma due to a double booking with Lalrozama Fanai set to replace him, and captain Joaquim Abranches might have to sit out with an ankle injury.

Sukhvinder said about the match, "It is a difficult situation. If we win, we have a chance but we are not looking at that now. We are only aiming to play well, that is our focus." To some such a statement might sound weird but that is Sukhvinder Singh, who added, "It'll be a tough game tomorrow but we will try to give our best."


Likely India Under-23 Line-up

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Denzil Franco, Rowilson Rodrigues, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Lalrozama Fanai; Joachim Abranches, Manish Maithani, Jewel Sheikh Raja, Jibon Singh; Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh

2010 Asian Games: Football draws are out

The draw for the football tournament at the 2010 Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China was carried out earlier today. The men's competition will see 24 teams divided into six groups of four teams each with the top two sides from each group plus the four best third placed teams making it into the Round of 16. From there on it would be a knockout tournament to win the gold medal.

Though the Asian Games only open on November 12, the football tournament will be held from November 7 to 25. The competition like the Olympic football tournament will be an Under-23 tournament with three over aged players allowed per squad. The football competitions will be played across seven venues - Ying Dong Stadium, Huadu Stadium, Huangpu Stadium, Yuexiu Stadium, Guangdong People’s Stadium, Huagdong Stadium and Tianhe Stadium.

Two time champions India have been drawn in a difficult Group D along with defending champions Qatar, Kuwait and Singapore. Moving into the knockout stages is surely possible for the Sukhvinder Singh coached boys but for that a win against Singapore is a must plus good results against Kuwait and the mighty Qataris. One will have to see if Bob Houghton does release some of his senior team boys, while some India Under-20 boys will move up to be part of the squad ahead of their I-League engagements.

Four years ago in the Qatari capital Doha India had opened with a draw due to a late equaliser from Hongkong, beaten the Maldives 2-1 through a late Subhas Chakraborty goal, and then lost 0-2 against a strong Iran. That was then the end of the road for India as only the top team moved into the quarterfinals.


THE GROUPINGS

MEN

Group A: China, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Japan
Group B: Iran, Vietnam, Bahrain, Turkmenistan
Group C: South Korea, Palestine, Jordan, North Korea
Group D: Qatar, Kuwait, India, Singapore
Group E: Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Bangladesh
Group F: Thailand, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan


WOMEN

Group A: China, South Korea, Vietnam, Jordan
Group B: North Korea, Japan, Thailand