India crash out after last-gasp heartbreak against Bahrain
India’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the 2019 Asian Cup were ended by an injury-time penalty against Bahrain last night.
Pronay Halder, the India midfielder, fouled Hamed Al Shamsan inside the area and Jamal Rashed stepped up to fire the winner for Bahrain to clinch a 1-0 win and book their passage into the round of 16 at the Sharjah Stadium.
The result took Bahrain’s tally to four points along with Thailand, who drew with the UAE 1-1 at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. India finished bottom of Group A on three points.
Needing just a point to qualify, India were minutes from achieving their objective until captain Halder gave away the clumsy foul.
With the clock ticking by, the pressure had been on Bahrain. They made desperate attempts to unlock the Indian defence but the task was looking beyond them.
Ali Jaafar Madan fired off target in the 49th minute as Bahrain pushed for the opening goal, with Komail Alaswad then failing to hit the target with a rising drive.
They did come close on 71 minutes when Mohammed Marhoon’s effort inside the area hit the post.
Moments later, they were awarded an indirect free-kick just 10-yards out, after India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu picked up a back pass from defender Subhasish Bose.
However, Rashed’s shot deflected off a defender and sailed over the crossbar.
Minutes later, Bahrain defender Hamed Al Shamsan brought down Udanta Singh outside the area, but Sunil Chhetri’s effort failed to threaten the target. Needing to win the game, Bahrain’s intentions were very clear. They tried to play an attacking strategy but struggled to create any serious scoring chances. On the other hand, India, were solid in defence, needing only a draw to go through.
They played the long ball effectively to leave their opponents wary of counter attacks.
India were also cheered on by a partisan crowd, filling almost 90 per cent of the 10,000seat stadium, but at the end, it turned out to be a heartbreaking night for their fans.