India lost their first leg of 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against UAE 3-0 at the Khalifa Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Mohamed Al Shehhi,Ismail Hammadi,Hamdan Al Kamali struck goals for UAE which gives them significant advantage ahead of the second leg on 28th July in India.
India loses 3-0 to UAE
India started the game in their preferred 4-4-2 formation while UAE lined up a 4-4-1-1 formation. UAE took charge of the game from the start and looked to attack at every opportunity. The referee was the real villain in this match. He killed the contest by showing 2 red cards to Indian players Debabrata Das and Subrata Paul within 25 minutes of the start of the game. India had to play the rest of the match with 9 men and it became a no contest. UAE were also awarded 2 penalties, one in 21st minute which Hamdan Al Kamali converted and another in 24th minute which was scored by Mohamed Al Shehhi. Debabrata Das was given his marching orders for pushing Mohammed Al Shhehi inside the box. Subrata Paul also got red carded for intentionally hurting a UAE player which looked a very dubious decision. Subrata Paul collected the ball cleanly but he caught UAE player Ismail Hammadi in the follow through. This was enough for the referee to send Subrata Paul off. Although the Indian coaching staff protested by the decision stood.
India coach Armando Colaco didn’t had much option after his team was reduced to 9 men. He replaced Steven Dias with goalie Karanjit Singh. He also made some tactical changes by slotting Nabi as left wing back and striker Jeje in the midfield. This left Sunil Chhetri as a lone warrior upfront and India failed to create any attacking opportunities. UAE took the advantage of numbers and plunged forward. Karanjit Singh who was making his senior debut was fantastic since he came on but he was beaten finally on 81st minute by Ismail Hammadi.
This leaves Indian players with a mountain to climb in their home leg. They have to play out of their skin to overturn the deficit. On the other hand Srecko Katanec’s boys will be more happier, its a job well done for them.
Tags: 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, Abu Dhabi, Football India, India, Indian Football, Khalifa Stadium, UAE
