9 Apr 2001 ,BANGALORE: A determined India recorded a dream victory to begin their Pre-World Cup campaign on a rousing note. Star striker Baichung Bhutia provided the final touch to confirm that miraculous match-winner after Jules Alberto flicked the ball towards the goal following a I M Vijayan pass. That came in the 71st minute and the United Arab Emirates crashed to a shock defeat at the Sree Kanteerva Stadium here on Sunday.
This was the first match for both teams. Yemen and Brunei are the others in the fray in this Asian Zone Group 8 qualifying round for the 2002 World Cup to be co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
Although, the goal was officially credited to Jules Alberto, television slow-motion replays confirmed that Baichung got the final touch before the ball crossed the line.
In a match that was played at a rather slow pace, UAE saw more of the ball for long spells without looking really dangerous. It was possession which brought nothing. That they were able to because the Indians allowed them the space to function. Also, the Emirates pushed in more men in midfield and had more passing options. But they never really translated it into anything concrete.
Wing play was rarely seen. Central thrust was adequately taken care of by some inspired display by the defenders Sur Kumar Singh, Deepak Mondal, Mahesh Gawli and Dhanesh. With Virender Singh ruling the penalty box with authority, UAE never really got going in the vicinity of the Indian penalty box. The five of them played a closely knit game to keep their opponents at more than arms length right through.
As was to be expected, Baichung Bhutia, the country first player to play as a professional in European environs, was kept on a tight leash. Jaleel Abdul Rahman Mohammed was given that task and he did do a good job though the Indian wriggled free with some dashing runs. R. C. Prakash, Jules Alberto, Khalid Jamil, Joe Paul Ancheri and Rennedy Singh did the destructive job effectively and with gusto too. That denied the UAE the space they sought and except for a couple of chances that came their way, they never really opened up the defence.
As they struggled to create avenues to the goal one wondered why they were paying the French coach Henri Michel as much as 50,000 dollars a month. Of course, Yaser Salem Saleh Ali and Mohammed Omar looked dangerous on the rare occasions they had work to do. But then both appeared to have left their shooting boots back in the dressing room as they surprisingly blasted the ball wide of the goal once each, that too within the first quarter of the game.
As the Indians trooped out with their heads held high, they promised to hold it higher on their return and they did just that.
Midway through second moiety, India forced a throw-in. Khalid Jamil had been throwing them long. He suddenly decided to push one in short. He found Vijayan, who came in place of Prakash, making room for it. Vijayan controlled and tried to centre even as he lost balance and fell. It hit Jaleel and rose up. Jules Alberto, stationed nearby, steered it towards the goal with the outside of his right foot even as he hopped on the other foot. With Mutaz drawn to the first angle, the ball travelled to the far corner. UAE stopper Mohammed Qassim rushed in to clear but Baichung dashed in to stub it home with his left foot before it crossed the line.
UAE then made concerted efforts to restore parity but the Indians held on grimly.
The Chinese referee Sun Baojie did a fine job and booked India Baichung Bhutia and UAE's Mohammed Qassim for dangerous play. He also flashed the yellow card to Yaser Salem Saleh Ali for play-acting as he `dived' into the box in the hope of earning a penalty. In a way, the yellow card meant that he did exactly that.
