India conceded a late goal off a debatable penalty to miss out on their first-ever win over a higher-ranked Iraq who won via a penalty shoot-out in the King’s Cup on Thursday.
India, playing without Sunil Chhetri, were leading 2-1 till the 79th minute when the referee awarded a soft penalty to Iraq after their striker Aymen Ghadhban was squeezed by two defenders in the box during a tussle to get on to a high cross.
It did not look like a clear-cut penalty, but Ghadhban himself stepped up to takethe kick from the spot and scored to level the proceedings and take it to the penalty shootout.
Iraq then won 5-4 in the shootout with Brandon Fernandez failing to score as his shot struck the vertical.
Under the tournament’s rule, the game will be decided via penalty shoot-out if the scores are level in regulation time with no extra- time play.
It was a creditable show by Igor Stimac’s men, who were also without Lallianzuala Chhangte alongside the talismanic striker and captain Chhetri, who missed the tournament after becoming a father recently. India played on equal terms against Iraq, ranked 70th in the Fifa rankings (as against their 99th), for the most part of this game.
Earlier, Mahesh Naorem Singh had given India the lead in the 16th minute before Karim Ali equalised just before the half-hour mark, also from a penalty. India regained the lead in the 51st minute with Iraq captain andgoalkeeper Jalal Hasan conceding an own goal with a howler of an effort.
Iraq were reduced to 10 men in injury time as Zidane Iqbal was sent off for elbowing Brandon, but India could not capitalise much on that as regulation time ended within a minute.
The loss also ended India’s 11-match unbeaten streak this year. Although India fell short in this game, they still have a chance to claim the third place as they will compete in the playoff match on Sunday.
