The Indian U-17 football World Cup squad defeated Belarus U-18 by a solitary goal in their second match of the Granatkin Memorial Cup in Russia on Tuesday.
A 68th minute tap-in by Komal Thatal proved to be the difference between the two sides in a rather drab match where only a few chances were created by both teams.
The first real chance of the match came in the 23rd minute when Komal shot straight down the opposition custodian's throat after Boris Singh Thangjam dribbled past two defenders and found him with a through ball.
In the 34th minute, Sanjeev Stalin received the ball on the left flank and passed it to an onrushing Amarjit Singh Kiyam, who could only rattle the Belarus defence line with a first-time shot.
Meanwhile, Belarus failed to register even a single shot on the Indian goal in the first half.
Changing over, Boris dribbled into the box in the 50th minute and unleashed a shot which rattled the bar as India pressed to take the lead.
In the 63rd minute it was the Belarus side, who hit the woodwork as the match turned into an end-to-end affair.
In the 68th minute, India took the lead as captain Suresh Singh Wangjam played a cross from the right flank, which Komal tapped home.
--IANS
dm/tri/vt
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