Lebanon Kept India Goalless.
Intercontinental Cup: India and Lebanon players fought for the possession of the ball whole time.
India and Lebanon played out a goalless draw in the final league encounter of the Intercontinental Cup football at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday. Not much urgency was shown by both the sides as the previous match of the day saw Vanuatu (three points) beating Mongolia (one) to clear the way for Lebanon, which secured the final berth with the four points already in its kitty.
India and Lebanon will meet again in the final at the same venue on Sunday. With Sunil Chhetri sitting out after a long break, India had Ashique Kuruniyan in the sole attack position. The winger, though, did not look comfortable in his new duty. India head coach Igor Stimac brought in 10 changes compared to the side that played the previous match against Vanuatu but that did not help much.
India's midfield workhorse Anirudh Thapa had a chance in the third minute but his angular attempt went wide off an open goal. Udanta Singh released Ashique with a low cross in the 19th minute but the latter could not beat the Lebanon goalkeeper Ali Sabeh with his attempted flick. Lebanon made some good counter-attacks as Indians occasionally lost the ball in crucial positions, but the scoreline remained barren.
What's Your Reaction?
