India’s winning streak came to a halt in the final match of the Hero Tri-Nation Series as Saint Kitts and Nevis played out a 1-1 draw against the Blue Tigers at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday. Jackichand Singh gave the hosts the lead in the 39th minute with a brilliant back-header, while the team from the Caribbean found an equaliser in the 72nd minute when Amory Gvaune turned the ball in from close range.India started off brightly and gave their opponents a scare as early as the 3rdminute when Jackichand cut in from the right after nutmegging his marker and whipped in a dangerous cross, but Balwant Singh, who started this game ahead of Robin Singh, failed to connect.Both sides showed intent with equal fervour with the St. Kitts players trying their best to chase down the ball while putting in vital tackles as well. And as the game progressed, the Sugar Boyz warmed up to the task, and their football became more free-flowing as they started using the flanks well. They also did a good job of keeping Balwant and Jeje Lalpekhlua at bay, as they kept the ball amongst themselves.However, against the run of play, it was India who could have almost taken the lead in the 20th minute. Some good work from Halicharan Narzary down the left flank culminated in him providing an inch-perfect cross towards Balwant, but his header hit the defender and went out for a corner. That brought in a complete change of momentum as the Blue Tigers started taking the game to the visitors, suddenly finding lots of pockets to operate in.Balwant thought he was finally on the scoresheet when a 26th-minute free kick resulted in the ball falling to Jeje, who squeezed in a pass for him to tuck in from close range. However, the Mizoram-born player was adjudged to have been in an offside position, and the goal was disallowed.Three minutes later, an almighty scramble in the Saint Kitts and Nevis box led to India captain Sandesh Jhingan trying to thump one in, but it got a crucial deflection off a defender to trickle agonisingly wide for a corner. They finally made their pressure count in the 39th minute when Rowllin Borges whipped in a cross from the left flank towards Jackichand, and the winger, who was facing the wrong side of goal, flicked at the ball with a back-header, and it looped into the net over goalkeeper Jeffers Jamal.That first international goal for the Manipur-born Jackichand further boosted India’s confidence, and four minutes later, Jeje came close to doubling the lead, but his right-footed shot was met with a fingertip save from Jamal. That proved to be the last meaningful action of the half, as India went into the tunnel at the break with a 1-0 advantage.The men in blue started the second half by bringing on Robin Singh in place of Balwant, but the momentum hardly shifted. A golden opportunity to double the lead came Pritam Kotal’s way in the 49th minute when, after having made his way into the box, a lovely layoff from Jeje put him through but India would have perhaps preferred an attacker in that situation as the right-back’s shot went wildly off target.It was substitute Robin Singh’s turn a couple of minutes later to miss an even better opportunity, when after storming into the box, he saw his powerful shot blocked by goalkeeper Jamal. The Sugar Boyz tried their best to claw themselves back into the game, but a solid defensive line saw them restricted to only half-chances and hopeful shots from a distance. However, as they kept pushing, they came closer and closer, and finally forced the equaliser in the 72nd minute, under controversial circumstances. A corner that was floated in seemed to have been tipped over by goalkeeper Subrata Paul. However, television replays showed that the ball in fact clipped the crossbar without Paul having touched it. Another corner was awarded by the referee instead, and this time, Hanley Tiran’s cushioned header was tucked in by Amory Gvaune to put his team on level terms.The game was stretched thereon as both teams took turns to launch attacks searching a winner. However, the final ball-play from both teams was below par.The biggest opportunity to grab a winner though, fell to Robin Singh once again. The striker received the ball with his right foot and shot with his left, but the ball after taking a deflection off the defender’s feet, looped up and hit the crossbar.The last three minutes saw India launch a flurry of attacks as they went all-out in search of a goal. However, they were spurred either by some valiant defending or some poor finishing as the visitors held on for the draw, thus thwarting India from making it a perfect 10 wins on the trot.For more from the Hero Tri-Nation Series, check out our social updates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
