Women’s Asian Cup: Iran holds India

India head coach Thomas Dennerby would be disappointed since a win against lower-ranked Iran would have put his side in a good position in its bid to qualify for the quarter-finals. But, the Swede tactician must be happy in part as his wards dished out a fine display of possession and passing football, especially in the second half, at the DY Patil Stadium.

Iran, ranked 70th as against India’s 55th, was the better side in the opening minutes, during which it got two scoring chances, but the home team took control of the match midway into the first half.

Captain Behnaz Taherkhani’s header off a Samaneh Chahkandi free-kick ricocheted off the crossbar after beating India goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan in the 12th minute. Though India skipper Ashalata Devi was rock solid in defence, Iran almost took the lead in the 19th minute when the ball fell to Negin Zandi, who hit wide under pressure. After absorbing the early pressure, India settled down. Indumathi Kathiresan could not keep her volley down in the 24th minute while Manisha Kalyan’s free header six minutes later sailed over the bar.

The best chance for India came in the 32nd minute as Pyari Xaxa’s scuffed shot fell kindly for Indumathi, but the latter’s toe-poke only took the ball over the bar. Six minutes after the break, Manisha sent a fine low cross from the left but Xaxa’s strike went just wide. A minute later, Xaxa could not reach the ball off a lovely pass from Sandhiya Ranganathan, with an Iranian defender making a last-ditch effort.

At the hour mark, Indumathi’s shot hit the side netting after a fine build-up. Another great chance for India came in the 76th minute but substitute Dangmei Grace’s header in front of an open goal was somehow saved by Iranian goalkeeper Zohreh Koudaei, who made a remarkable recovery after being beaten. Dangmei again missed an opportunity towards the end as she was a bit late to take the shot in front of goal.

Result: India 0 drew with Iran 0