Intercontinental Cup 2023: Sahal and Chhangte deliver for India

Sahal’s second-minute goal provided the impetus for India in the initial stages of the game.
| Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

India breezed past Mongolia 2-0 to begin its Intercontinental Cup on a confident note here on Friday. The hosts failed to win by a bigger margin despite scoring twice within the first 15 minutes.

India seized the initiative, scoring in the second minute through Sahal Abdul Samad. He bulged the net with an angular finish off Anirudh Thapa’s cross which was partially cleared by the Mongolian goalkeeper Enkhtaivan. The strike set the tempo for the next half-an-hour as the Indians utilised the flanks to pin the Mongolians back in their defence.

The Blue Tigers were again rewarded for their efforts when Thapa sent the ball into the middle of the opposition box.

Sandesh Jinghan’s sharp header found the Mongolian midfielder Batbold, who was guarding the goalmouth, but the clearance fell to Lallianzuala Chhangte who was in the right position to slot the ball home.

With its opponent not getting much in the way of attack, the Indians’ resolve to score more seemed to flag a bit after the second goal. The need to preserve their energy in the sweltering conditions could have also played a part in this.

The cooling breaks opted by the teams could not really infuse the energy needed for the attacks to flow. However, India came close to scoring twice again — in the 39th and 40 minutes — when captain Sunil Chhetri set up Samad twice at the top of the box. But the midfielder wasted both opportunities.

The second session failed to produce anything extraordinary as India squandered three more chances and the scoreline remained 2-0 till the final whistle.

The results: India 2 (Sahal Abdul Samad 2, Lallianzuala Chhangte 14) bt Mongolia 0; Lebanon 3 (N. Matar 60, Hassan Kourani 73, Karim Darwich 83) bt Vanuatu 1 (John Wohale 62).