The Blue Tigers of India had to settle without a win as they ended 2024 without a single victory under their belt following the 1-1 draw against Malaysia on Monday, 18th November at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad.
The hosts began confidently in the opening minutes, but skipper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a mistake that gave Malaysia an easy lead. On the 19th minute, Azam Azmi Murad made a clearance that made Gurpreet rush out to clear the danger, only misjudging it. The ball fell to Paulo Josue, who took his time to slot it calmly into an open net to give the visitors a lead of 1-0.
India came back into the game, which at this stage was heavily reliant on wing play through Lallianzuala Chhangte. This brought them their first success as their pressure was rewarded in the 39th min as Chhangte won a corner kick. Brandon Fernandes chipped in a most precise cross to leave Rahul Bheke scoring over the Malaysian defence and moving the ball into the net to equalize the match at 1-1. Brandon's spellbinding piece of interplay won him the Man of the Match.
There was more crystal-clear opportunity in the second session, but India had a good share of possession as well, though neither side could find that decisive goal that came to the end as the match ended levelled at 1-1.
"It was good work [overall]. Every goal kick took a minute – the pace was very slow. We didn't adapt to this game – we equalized in a set-piece. It's true they equalized in an action without danger – their last action was dangerous [referring to Tierney's header off the post], but more or less the result was fair. We have four months till the next break. The list [squad] will be more clear in the next window – more or less the league will be over," India coach Manolo Marquez said at the post-match interaction.
India's 2024 campaign has come to a disappointing draw. The Blue Tigers are now at a sequence of 12 winless matches, with the last victory recorded against Kuwait in November 2023.