India outclassed Mongolia 4-1 to begin their campaign in the AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers on a winning note here on Wednesday.
The teams were locked 1-1 at half time, but India stepped up the assault in the second half to leave Mongolia’s defence in tatters.
Kelvin Singh Taorem (20′), Manglenthang Kipgen (51′, 54′), and Korou Singh Thingujam (85′) were the goal-scorers for India.
Temulen Uuganbat (45th) struck the solitary goal for Mongolia.
Iran and hosts Laos are the two other teams in the Group G.
The Blue Colts were a perfectly deserving lot to take home three points as they attacked from the beginning and relentlessly tormented the Mongolian goal with repeated raids.
Going by the trend of the proceedings, Ranjan Cahudhuri’s boys should have been ahead by more than a goal by the first 15 minutes, but the rival defence somehow managed to thwart the onslaught.
A series of corners earned by India early in the match saw the Mongolia defence resort to desperate measures to save their citadel.
They, however, could do little against the curling corner taken by Kelvin Singh Taorem in the 20th minute that eluded the goalkeeper Khuslen Bayartulga, who misjudged the flight that spun into the net.
Mongolia were further handicapped in the 28th minute as their captain Sodbilguun Tumen-ulzil was sent off by the Hong Kong referee Wong Wai Lun for a rather nasty challenge on Gwgwmsar Goyary, who was played through behind the Mongolia defence. Despite India’s complete dominance and the rivals being reduced to 10 men, Mongolia managed to equalise minutes before the half-time whistle.
In the 45th minute, midfielder Uuganbat entered the India box from the left and beat goalkeeper Sahil with a low shot.
The unexpected setback could hardly deter India from probing further into the Mongolian area as the second session began.
Their continuous efforts were soon rewarded as the Blue Colts struck two goals in a span of four minutes, both coming from Manglenthang Kipgen.
The quick-footed midfielder had the goalkeeper at his mercy in the 51st minute when he received the ball just outside the box, stepped in and struck a left-footer that went into the far bottom corner to restore India’s lead.
Three minutes later, Kipgen was at it again from a similar situation. It was once again a left-footer that brooked no defence before going in much to the delight of the Indian bench.
India refused to loosen their grip and finally picked up their fourth goal in the 87th minute when Korou Singh Thingujam tapped in from close ranges to make it a 4-1 rout.
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