New Delhi: Lemmet Tangvah scored a brace as the India U-17 men's national football team scored a comprehensive 4-0 win against TSV Schwaben Augsburg in their last practice game tour of Germany at the Paul Renz Akademie, in Augsburg.
Lemmet Tangvah scored twice in the first half, while Rohen Singh and Thanglalsoun Gangte added two more goals, to make it an easy 4-0 victory for India in their last practice game in Germany.
Gearing up for the AFC U-17 Asia Cup in Thailand, the India U-17 men's team toured Spain and Germany with mixed results. But more importantly, the boys gained a lot of experience playing in foreign conditions and against some strong opponents.
On Monday, the Blue Colts were off to a flying start, and after a shot by Akash Tirkey was saved by TSV Schwaben keeper Niklas Frank in the opening exchanges, Lemmet Tangvah put India in the lead in the 16th minute off a corner by Gogocha Chungkham.
Six minutes later, Tangvah turned provider, when his cross from the right found Rohen Singh, who made the most of his opportunity to double India's lead.
Fullback Balkaran Singh also got in on the action with eight minutes of regulation time left in the first half, as his cross was turned in by Tangvah.
With a commanding 3-0 lead in their favour, the India U-17 boys headed into the dressing room, as head coach Bibiano Fernandes made a couple of changes before the start of the second half. Goalkeeper Pranav was replaced by Julfikar Gazi, while forward Shashwat was replaced by Thanglalsoun Gangte.
TSV Schwaben did come out with a greater purpose in the second session, but Gazi was up to the task, as he thwarted efforts by Mustafa Yalcin and Burak Uludag. India soon struck their fourth goal, 10 minutes after the restart, when Gogocha found Gangte with an inch-perfect pass, as the latter got his name on the scoresheet.
Tangvah was on the lookout for his hat trick and almost came close to netting his third of the game in the 64th minute when he latched on to a Gogocha cross, but Schwaben defender Hazem Ibrahim made a last-ditch block to thwart the effort. That was the last chance Tangvah had as he was soon replaced by defender Gurnaj Singh Grewal. Gogocha had another chance to make it five in the closing exchanges, as he hit the woodwork, but the scoreline remained 4-0 in India's favour.
The India U-17s will now train in Augsburg for one more day, before travelling to Thailand on June 1 for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup. The team will train in Thailand for two weeks, before they face Vietnam (June 17), Uzbekistan (June 20), and Japan (June 23) in Group D of the tournament.—IANS