Oman 5 – 1 India : Blue Tigers Lose After An Abject Defensive Display

A largely experimental Indian side was thrashed by Oman in their first friendly match before AFC Challenger Cup. India’s 5-1 loss perfectly showed the great gulf of class between the two sides. Savio Medeira was also completely outmanoeuvred tactically by former Ligue-1 winning coach Paul Le Guen.

First Half

India lost the match in the first seven minutes itself as Omani Daggers scored two quick goals to peg the Blue Tigers back. Medeira handed Gurjinder his first start in the blue shirt, while Samir Naik was handed the captain’s arm band at the right full-back position. Gurjinder’s inexperience and lack of understanding with rest of his defensive line was all too evident on the fifth minute when he was skinned by Saad Suhail. Suhail launched a perfectly weighted cross towards Al-Ghassani, who made no mistakes from close range. On the other wing, veteran Samir Naik was also taken to the cleaners as Ismail Al Ajmi put Oman 2-0 up.

Coming back into a match from being 2-0 down within first seven minutes is not something this Indian team was capable of and the Blue Tigers took some time to find their feet. Oman almost scored a third goal but were denied by Karanjit’s timely block. After the hour mark, Oman slowed down as India began to gain more ball possession. Jewel Raja created India’s best chance of first period as his long ranger fizzed past the post. First half ended 2-0 to Oman.

Second Half

The start of second half was slower than the first with both Oman and India taking a more cautious approach. Samir Naik’s forgettable performance in this match reached a new level when his miscued cross almost went into his own goal. The Daggers got the first clear-cut chance in second half as Al-Ghassani’s shot, after Karanjit had saved his initial effort, was cleared off the line by Gourmangi Singh. The inevitable finally happened two minutes before the hour mark with Al Ajmi notching up his second goal thanks to a cross from Darwish.

Oman took their foot off the gas pedal after the third goal, allowing Joachim Abranches to pepper their goal with a few long rangers. India finally broke the duck six minutes after Oman’s goal. Nabi headed the ball across Oman’s goal and Joachim Abranches had a very easy task of tapping in the goal.

India’s goal seemed to have brought Oman back to their A game as the Daggers began to attack in numbers again. With India too looking to get in the attacking moder Omani wingers found acres of space behind Indian full backs. Hasan Rabie could have put Oman further ahead but somehow managed to fluff two gilt-edged chances.

Mr Indispensable

Rabie made amends for his earlier misses by pumping in Oman’s fourth three minutes from the end of regulation time. Anwar Ali was unable to prevent Rabie from connecting to a beautifully delivered free-kick and Karanjit was beaten all ends up. Abdullah Thuwain drove the final nail into India’s coffin two minutes later with Darwish setting him up.

The match ended with a resounding victory for Oman. This was hardly the start India needed before their AFC Challenger Cup campaign began.

Observations

Rahim Nabi is indispensable for India: Gurjinder has dished out some wonderful performances in I-League but his lack of experience was all too evident in this match. India looked much better offensively and defensively with Nabi on field. The Mohun Bagan full-back also assisted the only goal India scored.

Joachim Abranches should partner Chhetri: Sushil Singh has got many, many opportunities with the national team and has failed routinely. Abranches, on the other hand, was a livewire in second half. Despite lack of supply from midfield he did create several chances and deservedly scored India’s only goal.

Central defence is extremely weak: Anwar Ali has been shaky in I-League so it was not surprising that he often looked lost against Oman. Gourmangi has also not been at his usual imperious self, leaving gaping holes in central defence. Raju Gaikwad, who is most likely to replace Anwar in starting XI, has been out of match practice for a long time. Things certainly don’t look good for Indian fans if the central defenders continue to show such under par performances.

Jewel Raja is one for the future: After being overran in first half hour, Indian midfield recovered, led by the young Jewel Raja. Jewel was the glue that held India together in center of the park. However, for all his endeavours he was often let down with his fellow midfielders losing possession easily. Indian central midfield could have had a long term solution in Mehtab-Jewel combo but Medeira’s shock exclusion of Mehtab Hussain means the Blue Tigers are still looking for a proper partner to Jewel.

Not all is lost: The scoreline doesn’t do justice to India, who did match Oman for large periods of the match. Most of goals came in quick succession and Medeira’s team did manage to hold fort against Oman for most of the 90 minutes. Indian fans must not forget the 5-0 mauling India got from a second string Zambian side, at home before SAFF Cup. India still captured the SAFF Cup, so this one result doesn’t mean all’s lost.