On Monday evening, the India vs. Malaysia friendly match ended in a 1-1 tie in the GMC Gachibowli stadium, Hyderabad. This was India’s last international game before the Asian Cup. With that draw, the Blue Tigers continues their winless run, as they have not won a single match this year.
The match began with a slow pace from both teams and possession-based football. However, in the 19th minute, Malaysia opened the scoring. Keeper Gurpreet Singh came out of the eighteen-yard box to stop an attack but failed. Josue got the ball, went inside the box, and placed it into the empty net.
After going down, India started attacking to level the score before the end of the first half. In the 39th minute, from a corner kick, Blue Tigers found the equalizer. From the right, Brandon delivered an inch-perfect cross into the box, which Rahul Bheke perfectly headed into the net.
In the second half, at 60th minute, Roshan delivered a cross into the box from the left. Faruk Chowdhury attempted a bicycle kick but missed. Chhangte, with the rebound, took a shot but couldn’t score.
In the 69th minute, Malaysia launched a dangerous attack. Daniel Sang Ting delivered the ball into the box, which Gurpreet punched out but failed to grip. The rebound fell to substitute Muhammad Safawi, who took a half-volley shot, but it goes wide.
The match’s rhythm slowed down again as time passed. Both teams made some goal-bound moves, but they weren’t enough to bring more goals. However, at the end of the match, in the 90+2nd minute of additional time, Muhammad Safwan delivered a cross, and Fergus Tierney attempted a header, but it hit the crossbar. However, the match ended in a 1-1 draw tonight. In today’s friendly match, Ifran Yadwad, Hmingthanmawia (Valpuia), and Jithin MS earned their first caps for the Blue Tigers.
Key Player Of The Match: Brandon Fernandez. With a crucial assist and brilliant execution throughout the 90 minutes.
