India go down to Saudi Arabia in Asian under-19 qualifiers

New Delhi, Nov 8 : India went down to Saudi Arabia 1-3 in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship qualifier at Arbil, Iraq.

According to information received here, India led 1-0 till the half-time but then conceded three goals in the second half for their second successive defeat Saturday night at the Francouse Al - Harerri Stadium.

Egged on by a large contingent of local Kurdish fans, Shilton D'Silva put India ahead in the 28th minute heading in a cross from Rozama.

Saudi Arabia equalized in the 55th minute when a faulty clearance from defender Deepak Devrani found the net for an own goal. Indians were reduced to 10 men in the sixth minute after Vishal Kumar was given marching orders by Vitenamese referee Vo Minh Tri.

Saudi Arabia stepped up the attack with Yahya Hussain, Abdulla Ibrahim, Mohammed Yahya and Yasir Hussain combining well to rattle the Indian defence. Saudis won 13 corners compared to India's five corners.

Abdulla Ali broke the deadlock in the last minute of the game while Muhammad Hamed doubled the led in the injury time

India coach Colin Toal said: "I am pleased the way boys played after a 5-0 loss to Iraq. Refereeing today was very poor. It is difficult to play with ten men for 25 minutes against a team like Saudi Arabia."

--IANS