Hosts India won their ninth match on the trot by getting the Hero Tri-Nation Series off to a victorious start at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday. Goals from Robin Singh (37th minute) and Balwant Singh (62nd minute) sealed a comeback 2-1 victory over Mauritius, who caused a scare by taking the lead through Jean Mervyn Jocelyn in the 14th minute.The match began with some scrappy play from both sides, and the turf did not help matters owing to the incessant rain through the day. With the game mostly revolving in and around the midfield, the first shot on target came from the away team, but Joseph Stephan Kevin’s eighth minute long-ranger was comfortably held on to by Indian custodian Subrata Paul. That was a warning shot though, and the side from Africa took the lead in the 14th minute when Jocelyn lashed on to a loose ball, which took a wicked deflection off defender Narayan Das before wrong-footing Paul to loop into the net and silencing the crowd.This was the first time the Blue Tigers had conceded in four games, and with the fans trying their best to get behind the team, they were in need of a response.They almost found an ideal one seven minutes later when Narayan Das’ floated ball from a free-kick on the right flank was met by Sandesh Jhingan. The latter, India’s captain for the night, failed to keep his header on target though.A half-chance came the way of Robin Singh in the 29th minute, but he could not make proper contact with the header from a deft Das cross, and the chance went a-begging.While India tried to push through, Mauritius were quick to sniff out the possibility of any potentially dangerous build-up by making timely interceptions and tackles in midfield.The hosts’ efforts paid dividends though and it was Robin Singh himself who grabbed the equaliser in the 37th minute, when a beautiful ball from Rowllin Borges put him through on goal. The burly No. 9 looked to have taken an unnecessary extra touch, but he kept his cool to drive in a low shot through defender Louis Marco Dorza’s legs and into the bottom left-hand corner of the ‘keeper Kevin Obrian Jean-Louis, much to the delight of the jubilant crowd.India though, were almost caught off-guard six minutes later when Pascal Damien Balisson’s long-range effort just went over the crossbar, much to Paul’s relief. That proved to be the last chance of the half as the teams went into the break with the scoreline reading 1-1.A triple change came in for India at half-time - Amrinder Singh replacing Subrata Paul in goal; Nikhil Poojary getting the nod at the expense of Jackichand Singh, and surprisingly, Balwant Singh replacing goal-scorer Robin Singh as Stephen Constantine decided to try out all options at hand. This also meant Amrinder and Poojary made their senior debuts for the country.The second half started with end-to-end football as both teams took turns to attack the opposition, and Halicharan Narzary tried to curl one in from outside the edge of the box in the 56th minute, but the effort went wide.One could sense a goal coming for the home side, and it did six minutes later from the boots of attacker, Balwant Singh. Eugeneson Lyngdoh found Jeje Lalpekhlua, who held on to his marker and cleverly flicked the ball into the path of Balwant, who found himself clear on goal. The striker took his time, and although ‘keeper Jean-Louis managed a hand to his shot, he could not prevent the ball from nestling into the back of the net, giving India the lead for the first time on the night.That brought in a complete change in mentality for Mauritius, as they went on a barrage of attacks. The home team held their lines well with the Jhingan-marshalled defence keeping the attackers at bay and also made sure that the supply to target-man Kevin Bru was cut out.That left the backline vulnerable, and Narzary went close to getting a third. But his shot from a slightly tight angle failed to find the correct side of the near post.Mauritius’ continual attacks brought them a double-chance in the 89th minute, but while Dorza’s shot was parried away by Amrinder, Laval Jesson Rungassamy’s consequent close-range effort was off target as the Indian defenders desperately threw their bodies around.Manvir Singh, another debutant who had come on as a substitute for Jeje, came closest to sealing the deal in the 90th minute with his first touch, but the lobbed effort with the goalkeeper off his lines went agonizingly over the goal.That proved to be the last chance of the match as India held on for the five minutes of added time, taking the win in the opening match of the series.For detailed coverage from the India vs Mauritius match, head over to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds.
