VANCOUER: Reduced to 10 men after Sushil Kumar Singh was given the marching order in the 40th minute, India struck once in each half to tame the Chinese under-20 team 2-1 and finish third in the inaugural Nations Cup football tournament here.
NP Pradeep drew the first blood for India in the 28th minute while Manjit Singh buttressed the lead in the 66th minute. China reduced the margin in the 76th minute through Tang Jiashu but that didn’t have any impact on the outcome.
Meanwhile, controversies surround the Chinese team, which the organisers claimed is in fact an under-17 squad and Vancouver Whitecaps FC president John Rocha has threatened to file a complaint with FIFA for allegedly being misled by the Chinese Football Association.
Aghast with the performance of the Chinese team, which lost 5-0 to Cardiff City FC on Friday and then 2-1 to India, Rocha said the Chinese officials had promised to bring in their under-20 squad, along with a few teenagers but in the end, he claimed, they had sent their under-17 squad.
Pointing out that the Whitecaps had paid the travel expenses of the three visiting Nations Cup teams, Rocha said, “We’ll probably be looking for some sort of compensation from the Chinese football federation.”
Meanwhile, a Chinese official insisted no matter what be the age of the players, 16, 17 or 18, it was indeed an under-20 team.
Desperate to make a mark under new coach Bob Houghton, the Indian players showed some sense of urgency and had lots of ball possession even though they could not initiate enough moves to pose serious threat to their Chinese rivals.
Sushil’s red card substantially weakened the Indian side and the Chinese gradually clawed their way back to the game even though they could not penetrate the Indian citadel and Pradeep’s header off a Rennedy Singh corner meant India went into the breather with a 1-0 lead.
The second goal was the product of an Indian counter-attack that saw Manjit finding the back of the net after Steven Dias’ thwarted effort in the 66th minute.
The Chinese got their consolation goal 10 minutes later when Tang Jiashu nodded in after an inch-perfect corner found him unmarked.
Meanwhile, local favourites Vancouver Whitecaps FC beat Cardiff City FC, Wales, in a penalty shootout after the regulation time failed to yield any result. Star Cardiff City striker Michael Chopra missed his shot in the shoot-out.
