Indian colts fought hard but could not restrict a much higher ranked Iran from notching up a 3-0 victory in their second match of the AFC under-19 football qualifiers in Tehran.
The disparity in the FIFA rankings though did not seem to have an effect on the Indian boys, who fought back after an early strike by Iran in the eighth minute to hold the fort till the 67th minute when Alireza Jahan converted from the spot, virtually sealing the match for his team.
“It was a harsh penalty and it killed the match for us. We were very much in the match till then,” the head coach Colm Toal said after the match.
The Indian colts began the second half with more intent and the equaliser seemed inevitable with the co-ordination between the Indian medios — Prabir Das, Sehnaj Singh, Pronoy Halder and Brandon Fernandes — frustrating the host for most part of the match.
Earlier, the first goal came even before anyone had settled down with Ahmad Abdollahzadeh curling a corner into the net from the left.
The visitors, though, came back strongly playing a counter attacking game, which saw Brandon Fernandes and Holicharan getting past Mohammad Heidari on the left on three occasions only to be restricted by an alert Iranian centre-back Vahid.
Another goal by Jahan in the 81st minute, however, meant that India had to return empty-handed. India next plays Uzbekistan.
In another match, Turkmenistan beat Pakistan 2-1.
