Lebanon started their Nehru Cup campaign on a confident note when they edged past India by a solitary goal in the opener of the 2009 Nehru Cup.
'The Bhangra Boys' failed to produce the same magic what they created in the last edition when they were off to flyer with a 6-0 victory over Cambodia. A lot was expected from Bob Houghton’s boys after their successful trip to Barcelona, but they failed to live up to the expectations and certainly lacked combination especially in the midfield.
The tall and formidable Lebanese were off to a flyer and took full advantage of the complacency of the Indian defence in the starting minutes. Bob disappointment about the turf was totally justified as the ground looked uneven and was not best suited for the ground play.
The all decisive goal was scored by the Lebanese central defender Ali Al Saad. His freekick from the top of the 18 yard box found the back of the net leaving Subrata Pal stranded. Surkumar was put under a lot of pressure in the opening minutes as he hardly had any clue about the Lebanon midfielders who looked much more organized in comparison to 'The Bhangra Boys'. The Indian defence was back to the wall situation right from the word go which proved costly and gave Lebanon to hold their firm grip on the match.
India after being down by one goal was not to throw in the towel and fired all their cylinders in search of the equalizer. The midfield looked more organized after the early blow by Ali Al Saad. India came close to level the terms in the 8th minute but Bhutia failed to meet Manju’s cross from the left flank. The highlight of the Lebanon performance was precisely their defence who had a good day at the office. Both the central defenders hardly allowed any spaces and kept frustrating the Indians with their intelligent ball play.
Lebanon could have doubled their lead through Mohumad El Ali half way through first half but the speedy strikers failed to utilize the long ball from the captain Bilal El Najjarine. Sushil Kumar Singh came close to level the terms in the 31st minute but his powerful header was cleared off the line of Steven corner. The young Manipuri strikers took the Lebanese goalkeeper Lary Mehanna by surprise with his cleverly taken shot from the top of the 18 yard box just before the lemon break, but the Lebanese goalkeeper came back to senses to claw away for a corner. Lebanon went for the break with all important lead after a convincing start.
Bob Houghton as expected brought on his most reliable and consistent striker Sunil Chetri after the lemon break, which made some positive difference to the side but even his effort was not enough to save the day for India. The local boy showed no sign of worry with his sustained ankle injury and put up a scrappy performance but didn’t have much support from the midfield. Baichung Bhutia had an ordinary day on the field and had a tough time competing with the tall Lebanese defenders. The game could have swung India’s way in the 66th minute, when Bhutia was brought down by the central defender Ali Al Saad on the edge the 18 yard box. The Indian captain was tipped by Ali Al Saad, but the Bangladeshi referee Miron Abdul Hannan found Bhutia on the guilty side and showed him a yellow card for diving. An uncalled for decision.
Things are certainly not going India’s way as not only they suffered a marginal defeat at the start of their Nehru Cup campaign, rather two of their main defenders have sustained injuries. Mahesh Gawli came in for N.S. Manju who suffered an ankle injury, while Anwar was replaced by Mehrajuddin Wadoo in the 80th minute. Steven Dias disappointed with his trademark crosses, while debutant Anthony Pereira failed to put up an impressive performance on the left in his very first major tournament.
Lebanon walked away with the victory smile and collected the valuable three points to start their Nehru Cup campaign on a convincing note. The Bob Houghton coached side is yet to register a win against Emile Rustom’s side. India managed to settle for a draw in their last encounter in Goa, while they were totally outclassed by the Lebanese two years back in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in Saida.
Source: Indianfootball.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Friday 21 August 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.