India beat Macau in Asian Cup qualifier

macau — India took a giant step towards qualification for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, to be held in the UAE in 2019, registering a 2-0 win over Macau in an away match at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.

In a one-sided contest, substitute Balwant Singh scored a brace with a header in the 57th minute and poacher’s goal in the 81st minute after a mix-up by the Macau back-line.

This was India’s third successive victory and they sit pretty on top of Group A with nine points. India are scheduled to face the same opponents on October 10 in the return fixture in India.

India started on a positive note as Macau seemed to be happy sitting back. Udanta and Narayan Das found ample space on the wings but the hosts managed to keep the crosses out. Both Sunil and Jeje were heavily marked with their efforts finding the legs of the opposition defence.

Indian midfielders were dictating the game as they found acres of space near the box. Jeje cut in from the left but Sunil’s powerful shot was blocked out. Narzary showed some deft footwork as he twisted and turned but his shot was kept out by the keeper.

A flurry in the 36th minute saw Nazary and Rowllin combining well but the clearance made its way to Eugeneson whose long ranger hit the crossbar. Rowllin latched on to the rebound but his shot too was saved by the goalkeeper.

A couple more chances came India’s way with Jeje’s header landing on the roof of the net while Narzary’s perfect cross was met by Sunil only to be blocked out by the desperate Macauan defence.—