Gold Cup 2019: India resolves beats Iran 1-0

India beat Iran 1-0 to open its 2019 Gold Cup campaign on Saturday at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.

Iran's attempts to break a resistant Indian bottom line have not borne fruit and Anju Tamang's goal in the 48th minute has been enough for the hosts to leave with a win.

The team of Maryam Azmoun had the intention to pbad the ball from the start, but Aditi Chauhan did not have much to do in the initial exchanges between teams.

While visitors were limited to long-term efforts for the entire first half, India came closer as early as the second minute. Dangmei Grace intercepted Fatemeh's pbad to her central back partner who went straight to the goal. Iranian goalkeeper Zahra Khajavi managed a nice one-handed shot to counter Grace's shot.

An intense battle ensued in midfield as both teams struggled to keep the ball for long periods. Dangmei threatened again in the 30th minute, this time with a deep cross in the area which put the Iranian keeper in an embarrbading position as she returned to retrieve the ball. Ratanbala Devi rushed to get to the ball first, but failed to beat the last line of defense.

Iran's influence grew as half pbaded. Zahra Alishah spotted Sara Ghomimarzdashti's shot from behind the defense with a deep pbad. The Iranian skipper beat Ashalata Devi by letting his shoulder at the edge of the area but shot straight to the alert goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan.

India marked a fluid movement three minutes after recovery. Sanju started a movement from the center, placed it on his right at Indumathi who found Ratanbala at the edge of the box. Sanju recovered the ball on the left flank and punctured the ball on the face of goal for Anju Tamang who tapped the net goal.

Sanju was watching a stray pbad a few minutes later, intercepting a cross-field ball and feeding Indumathi. The attacker ran to the edge of the area before sending a curling shot just outside the goal.

The desperate desire of the opposition to return to the match opened a space for India and forced the defenders to avoid mistakes. Manisha intercepted a decisive pbad from defense and moved to Sanju, whose depth was denied by the crossbar in the 82nd minute.

Substitutions and fatigue slowed the match and India held on to seal the win at the end of the 90 minutes.

Myanmar beat Nepal 3-0 in the first match of the tournament earlier in the day. India will face Nepal on Monday, February 11 at the same place.

The original formation of India: Aditi Chauhan (GK, C); Dalima Chhibber, Sweety Devi, Ashalata Devi, Jabamani Tudu; Sangita, Indumathi K, Ratanbala Devi; Sanju, Dangmei Grace, Anju