Football: After good win over UAE, India go down to Tunisia in friendly

The Indian women’s football went down to Tunisia by one goal in their second friendly match played at the UAE FA Stadium in Dubai on Monday. They had got their first win of the year and first under new coach Thomas Dennerby beating United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

Tunisia are ranked 77th in the FIFA charts while India are at 57th.

India had their first chance as early as the second minute but even as Manisha tried to flick in Dalima Chibber’s cross, rival goalkeeper Mariem managed to keep it at bay. Six minutes later Tunisia surged into the lead as Heuij scored from a free-kick.

India launched a barrage of attacks in their effort to restore parity. In the 11th minute Manisha ran down the left flank and sent in a cross but the rival defence managed to clear it. Soon after, another cross from Sanju was collected by Mariem.

India had earlier beaten UAE 4-1 in their last friendly match in Dubai, with Manisha Kalyan, Pyari Xaxa, Sweety Devi and Anju Tamang scoring one apiece.

But against Tunisia, it was a series of misses for India.

Some ten minutes later, Indumathi tried to place it in from outside the penalty box, but it missed the target. In the 31st minute, Manisha’s…

Read more