By IANS,
Doha : Qatar survived some anxious moments to beat India 3-1 in the pre-Olympic football qualifier at the Al Sadd Stadium here Sunday.
The crowd, comprising mostly expat Indians, which had taken over the Al Sadd more than an hour prior to the kick-off, went berserk in the seventh minute as India took a surprising lead through Jeje Lalpeklua.
The power and the velocity of Raju Gaikwad’s long throw left the Qatar defence guessing; and off the melle, Jeje tapped home.
Three minutes later, goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani saved a penalty – Qatar’s captain Hasan al Haydos failing to beat Kattimani from the spot after he was brought down on the edge of the box.
An upset looked on the cards, but Qatar drew parity in the 14th minute with Al Khalfan slotting home a through pass a split second ahead of an advancing Kattimani.
The Indians were pushed to the defence for the rest of the first half. Haydos, desperate to make amends for his missed penalty was omnipresent but the Indians went into the break 1-1.
Haydos was eventually rewarded after he ran diagonally and finished off with a long-ranger which beat a diving Kattimani in the 54th minute to break the deadlock.
The flurry of attacks resulted in the third goal for Qatar in the 68th minute – substitute Mohamed Elneel tapping in from close.
The Indians pressed hard for the second goal but Jeje and Sabeeth didn’t get much support from an off-colour Lalrindika and Jewel Raja.
The second-leg is slated for Pune’s Balewadi Sports Complex June 23.