Football friendly, China vs India as it happened: Blue Tigers hold hosts to a goal-less first half
Pritam Kotal had India’s best chance of the first half.
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India 0-0 China
7.25 pm: That will be all from us for the night, stay tuned for match report and more.
7.13 pm: Gurpreet Singh is the obvious choice for India’s best player on the night. Agree?
More reaction on Twitter, including KBFC Manjapada fans’ reaction — the group that travelled to China.
Great Result for @IndianFootball in China. We have held them to draw. Indian Football is getting better day by day.
— Manjappada KBFC Fans (@kbfc_manjappada) October 13, 2018
As a fan Club "Manjappada" will make sure that wherever Team India go we will be there💪💪 #BackTheBlues #Manjappada #Globalfans #TravellingFans pic.twitter.com/C8x2u6pfTr
India were lucky to not concede because China were poor in front of the goal. And on other occasions, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was excellent between the sticks. Of course, lots to learn defensively but a good result overall. #CHNvIND #IndianFootball #
— Manasi Pathak (@ThatUnitedLady) October 13, 2018
Job well done @IndianFootball 🙌👏 kept their composure and focus till the final whistle. Fantastic effort guys, well done #WeAreIndia #BackTheBlues #chinaVIndia
— Aditi Chauhan 🇮🇳 (@aditi03chauhan) October 13, 2018
Some luck and a very good showing from Gurpreet there. Will take a 0-0 against China any day. #CHNvIND
— Bhargab Sarmah (@BhargabSarmah) October 13, 2018
7.08 pm: Some post-match reaction on Twitter.
Excellent defensive display by #India against 76 ranked #China side. Experience of playing China will boost the confidence of our players. Each of our players given everything to hold China to a nil-nil draw. #IndianFootball #CHNvIND
— Shaji Prabhakaran (@Shaji4Football) October 13, 2018
That away draw against China is as good as a win. But that will not condone poor team selection and nameless players getting India cap while those perform in League are left out #CHNvIND
— Somesh Upadhyay (@Somesh_IAS) October 13, 2018
FT : China 0-0 India
— football news india (@fni) October 13, 2018
So, Stephen Constantine = Marcelo Lippi, eh? 😆😆 #Indianfootball #CHNvIND
On any other day, we would've conceded more than two goals. Nevertheless, it's a good away result. Also comforting factor is India had a few decent chances. #CHNvIND
— Anish Anand (@testbowler) October 13, 2018
7.04 pm: A night to remember for the India fans who made it to Suzhou, eh?
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Full-time and it finishes 0-0. It’s a draw for the Blue Tigers in China.
Back to the walls performance by Stephen Constantine’s team. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood tall amidst the chaos to keep a clean sheet. India will take this result with both hands.
90+3’: 0-0
Farukh Choudhary breaks but can’t get a clean touch on it. Corner for team India but they can’t make it count.
90’: 0-0
Five minutes of added time. India are close to earning a hard-fought draw as Rowllin Borges replaces Anirudh Thapa.
84’: 0-0
Vinit Rai replaces Pronay Halder. Nikhil Poojary is booked for not maintaining enough distance during an opposition free-kick.
Kotal is a liability #IndianFootball
— Uday Akasapu (@Yardbirdie) October 13, 2018
79’: 0-0
Jhingan with a header from Thapa’s corner but he can’t keep it down. Jeje Lalpekhlua is replaced by Farukh Choudhary.
76' HOW DID THAT STAY OUT!
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) October 13, 2018
Confusion inside the Indian penalty box with the Chinese attackers with back-to-back shots at Gurpreet's goal but the Indian shot stopper keeps the ball away from his goal!
CHN 0-0 IND#BackTheBlue #CHNvIND
76’: 0-0
Goalmouth scramble and Gurpreet just about keeps it out. India are a lucky, lucky team.
69’: 0-0
China hit the bar once again! Wu Lei takes a fierce volley but Gurpreet and India manage to wriggle out of it. How long can they hold on for?
63’: 0-0
Double substitution for India as Udanta and Narayan Das come off for Nikhil Poojary and Anas Edathodika. A defensive shuffle from Constantine.
56’: 0-0
Narzary with a good tackle in midfield, passes it to Udanta but his finish is terrible. The shot is way over the bar.
55’: 0-0
Wave after wave of attacks. Jhingan and co are under bombardment but need to hold strong. China with real intent in this half.
Half time 0-0 India 🇮🇳 vs China 🇨🇳. Photos from all over India . Keep moving ✊🏻 #inquilabeindianfootball pic.twitter.com/c4pCIhfJgJ
— Blue Pilgrims (@BluePilgrims) October 13, 2018
50’: 0-0
POST! Gao Lin has a lot of time but he hits the post as Gurpreet can only watch. Massive scare there for the Indians.
46’: 0-0
We have kick-off in the second half. China are on the attack straight away!
China’s finishing has been poor. They have struggled without a proper striker up front. India haven’t kept the ball, but they have created a couple of chances. Jeje Lalpekhlua is struggling.
India will be content with a 0-0 at half time. Expecting more from Holi while going forward #CHNvIND #IndianFootball
— Rahul Bhutani (@BhutaniRahul) October 13, 2018
Half-time and it’s a story of missed chances by the Chinese team! Marcelo Lippi will be unhappy but Constantine will take that half. 0-0.
Seriously this is the much hyped Chinese team? @minervapunjabfc would beat them. The only thing stopping @IndianFootball from scoring are their own small mistakes. All in the mind!#CHNvIND #BackTheBlue
— Anirban Datta-Roy (@clixbyman) October 13, 2018
43’: 0-0
Free-kick whipped in by the Chinese. The header goes just over Gurpreet’s goal-frame.
37’: 0-0
Thapa looks to break but he is unable to progress, having been tackled in midfield.
India creating more chances now
— Indian Football News (@indianfootynet) October 13, 2018
Anirudh Thapa looks excellent but Narayan Das has been putting in some very poor crosses#INDvCHN
33’: 0-0
India will be happy with the first half hour. China have attacked and Gurpreet has been forced into a couple of saves. Lippi will bring on his big-hitters later.
27’: 0-0.
China currently dominating possession with 60%. The important stat for India is that the scores are still level.
24' SAVE! @GurpreetGK sticks out a foot to thwart a goal-bound attempt from the CHN attack. #CHNvIND 0-0
— Bengaluru FC (@bengalurufc) October 13, 2018
23’: 0-0.
SAVE! China almost score but Gurpreet gets low and keeps it out. Once again, the chance comes down India’s right.
Home team fans have to use a mic to get a chant going? Amateurs. Learn from @BluePilgrims. #CHNvIND #indianfootball #BackTheBlue #AsianDream
— Chiranjit Ojha (@ChiranjitOjha) October 13, 2018
17’: 0-0.
India have a free-kick which Thapa takes. Chhetri gets on the end of it and it’s a great chance, but the Bengaluru striker slips and it goes over the bar.
15' The first quarter of the 1st half has seen @MisterLippi's PR China not been able to convert their opportunities, and @KotalPritam's powerful right footer was brilliantly saved by Chinese keeper
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
CHN 0 – 0 IND#CHNvIND #AsianDream #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia
13’: 0-0.
CHANCE for India! Kotal on the overlap takes a low fizzing shot, which is saved. Thapa’s corner is a poor one.
11’: 0-0.
Jhingan to the rescue just in time. India can’t get out of their own half. It’s one-way traffic. A Chinese Twitter user confirms that China have fielded a second string team.
No there are 5/6 better players on the bench. The starting line up is more like a reserve team
— Zhang Feng (@WongRudolph) October 13, 2018
6’: 0-0
Jhingan clears the ball but he’s unhappy with Kotal for being out of position. China have another corner. India under early pressure.
3’: 0-0
China have the first corner. It is cleared by Gurpreet and India survive China’s first attack.
1’: 0-0
We have kick-off in Suzhou!
5.00 pm: The teams are out there. China are in red against India in blue.
Witness a slice of footballing history when the @IndianFootball team 🇮🇳 take on the People's Republic of China 🇨🇳 in the international 'friendly' tomorrow!
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) October 12, 2018
Get, set, #BackTheBlue. 🔥🔥🔥
#CHNvIND #FanBannaPadega pic.twitter.com/bWMlfSMtsb
4.55 pm: Will Lippi go with his trademark 4-3-3 to counter 4-2-3-1? Lots of pressure on Thapa and Pronay tonight. Sunil Chhetri predicted that India would have to defend a lot.
Tell us via a gif comment about your matchday feeling.
— Blue Pilgrims (@BluePilgrims) October 13, 2018
Matchday feeling got us like...... #CHNvIND pic.twitter.com/GW4z0ssaJm
4.50 pm: Marcello Lippi’s China are under a bit of pressure here. They have won two out of the last 11 games and have to come up with a big result in Suzhou. Lippi hailed the Indian team’s performance in recent years.
4.45 pm: Tim Cahill says that India can get a result in China if they have to be disciplined to get a result. Remember, India have never beaten China in 17 meetings. The hosts have won 12 and drawn five.
4.30 pm: Welcome to the live blog of India versus China due to take place in an hour’s time at the Suzhou Stadium in China. My name is Arka Bhattacharya and I will be taking you through to the end of the match this evening.
Starting XI for India vs China.
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) October 13, 2018
Kick-off IST 5.05 pm. #AsianDream #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/w2WgU1p3em
First up, the line-ups. The inclusion of Narayan Das is a major surprise, as Subashish Bose was expected to take up the left-back slot. Sandesh Jhingan will partner Bose at the heart of defence with Pritam Kotal on the right.
Jeje Lalpekhlua will lead the line with Sunil Chhetri playing just off him. Halicharan Narzary and Udanta Singh will flank the two forwards.