Jhingan gets red card, but Rahim Ali steals late equaliser for India in Singapore
Rahim Ali scored a fortunate late equaliser as India drew 1-1 against Singapore in an AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier.
Rahim Ali scored a fortunate late equaliser as India drew 1-1 against Singapore in an AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier.
Rahim Ali scored a fortunate late equaliser as India drew 1-1 against Singapore in an AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier.
Ten-man India grabbed a fortunate late equaliser in Singapore to add a point to their AFC Asian Cup third round qualification campaign on Thursday.
Substitute Rahim Ali couldn't have wished for a more memorable first goal for Team India as he was rewarded for his persistence on 90+1 minutes to level the match 1-1.
Ali, who came on for veteran striker Sunil Chhetri in the 79th minute, raced on to a poor-timed back pass from Jordan Emaviwe. Goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud almost cleared as he slid out of his territory, but Ali was brave and the ball bounced off his shin to present the attacker a simple tap-in.
Khalid Jamil's India had been reduced to 10 men in the second minute of the second half when defender Sandesh Jhingan was sent off for a second yellow. Jhingan was booked for pulling down a Singapore attacker on the break.
Shortly before half-time, Singapore had taken the lead with Ikhsan Fandi scoring. Malayali defender Muhammed Uvais lost track of Fandi as he misjudged the flight of a long ball, allowing the attacker to score.
Captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a big save from a one-on-one situation to deny substitute Ilhan Fandi in the second half as India pressed for an equaliser. Malayali midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad had an impact after entering the game in the second half.
India and Singapore will meet again on October 14 in Goa. The point in Singapore was India's second draw of the round, taking the Blue Tigers to 2 points from three matches. Singapore have five points from three.