"We are what our record says we are!"

After losing the first 2 matches in dying minutes, India finally managed to notch a win against Malaysia. PLaying in Dome Of Darkness Stadium, the first half saw some dour defense led by aging stars Arun Ghosh and Ricardo Lu. And then there was Mounil who ensured that anything that got behind the duo ended up in his gloves. Every corner saw him at the right place at the right time to deny Singh multiple chances at finding the back of the net. In the 21st minute Pushkala put India ahead when he received a cross from Kamal Sankait on the left flank , cut forward and stabbed the ball into the net. Malaysia strengthened their midfield at halftime by bringing Chalor and Benjawan for Darawan and Eshan. Chuasiriporn took some excellent corners but Mounil Ghosh Lu wall was impenetrable. Then Chidambaran kept his scoring streak alive when he received a pass from Ghorpade and lobbed it over the keeper to double the margin. chuasiriporn was in excellent touch creating some great chances but the Malaysian forwards could not convert in part due to poor luck.

The newfound hope which led Indian fans to beleive that the team had turned a new page, were soon dashed when they plummeted to a 3-6 loss against an efficient Korea Republic team. Manager viktor made a questionable decision to start Ramadhin over Ghosh. And Korea Republic wasted no time exploiting the inexperience. In the second minute RF Yung-Ho Chol opened the score for Korea Republic when he powered a cross from Joo-Bong Jeon into the near corner that was Ramadhin's responsibility. And then it started raining goals as JEong-Hwa Seo scored twice once in 10th minute and then in the 38th minute with Ma and Chu being awarded assists. chandrasekhar then scored his first goal of the tournament in the 40th minute but the horse had already bolted,b Things went from bad to worse in the second half when substitute Lim scored as soon as the 47th minute. A period dominated by some excellent forays by the Korean Republic team culminated when An headed a corner in to make the score 5-1. Chidambaram then lobbed a corner taken by ghorpade in the 71st minute and Lu headed in a Ghorpade corner in 75th minute but the match had long been lost. And Lim again exploited the weak Indian wing defence when he shot a rocket after receiving the perfect assist from Jeon. In the post match conference viktor said," When you have an aging team you have to rest the weary legs. Besides the young player gain experience only by playing in such matches not by warming benches." in response to a question about why Ramadhin and Stiff started for Ghosh and Sankait. When asked about whether the team had underestimated the opponents and if the India is better than where it is at the bottom half of the group table, he said "Our opponents were what we thought they were! You do not take it easy in the qualifications games! These are not some one-off friendlies. No you do not underestimate your opponents in any group qualifications.We are what our record says we are". That may be true but fans have come to expect more out of the Indian team. However to be fair the team is in the process of changing of guard. Two of the three matches lost could just as easily have been won. Also India still has a mathematical chance of qualifying for the playoffs.

On may 16th The Indian NT took on the Lebanese NT. The Indian midfielders were on the money again completing a lot of their passes but the Forwards were blanked by a strong defense led by Maldini. India fell behind early in the game when in the 19th minute, Busidan converted on a cross from Hims Amouyal reminding Indian fans of the defeat India met against Lebanon in the previous encounter between the two teams especially since Arun Ghosh,citing knee problems decided to retire from football.Chandrasekhar was shadowed through the first quarter by Bakasahab and could not convert the 2 crosses he received. India went into halftime trailing 0-1 having held the ball just 49% of the time. In the 46th minute India decided to bring in Peter Sims and with fresh legs the pace of the game suddenly quickened. The Indian defence kept Inzaghi and Moreno at bay. At the other end Chandrasekhar and Pushkala had their hands full trying to pierce the Lebanese defense. In the 89th minute Pushkala almost managed to score but Zakis fingertips pushed the ball wide and India earned a corner. Sathiamoorthy 's corner kick was received by Chidambaram who powered the ball in the net for the equaliser.
A hard fought 1-1 had Indian fans hoping for another miracle against Malaysia. Those hopes were bolstered in the twelfth minute when Naik passed the ball to Jiten Pushkala and he scored. However the ecstasy was short-lived,in the 18th minute NurHay scored off a Chuchai Durawan assist. The rest of the game saw the game being played in the Indian half with in C. Stiff, P. Susarla, A. Kutty, A. Tapti keeping the Malaysian forwards at bay. India play their final qualification game against Korea and a good showing will bolster their confidence for the new season.