Lisbon, May 10 (IANS): The India U-17 football team suffered a 1-2 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the last match of their exposure trip to Europe.
Tuesday night's match, which was slated to be a 80-minute affair, was part of the preparations of the Indian team as they gear up for the U-17 World Cup at home later this year.
Carlos Silva (40th minute) put the hosts in the lead just before half-time.
Aniket Jadhav (41st) quickly levelled the scores for the Indians after the resumption but Ussumane (51st) scored the second goal for Sporting Lisbon to settle the issue in the hosts' favour.
The match started at great pace and the Indian boys managed to contain the flurry of attacks by Sporting Lisbon, mostly from both flanks.
After the half-hour mark, Abhijit Sarkar tried his luck from the top of the box but the Sporting defence couldn't be unsettled by that.
A minute before half-time, Sporting Lisbon found the back of the net from a corner. Indian goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill failed to collect the ball.
Aniket equalised for the visitors almost immediately.
After the equaliser, India pushed the hosts to the wall with a plethora of attacks. Anwar's header went straight to the Sporting goalkeeper while Sanjeev's long-ranger was blocked by the cautious Sporting defence.
A few minutes later, Ussumane scored again for the hosts to put them back in the driver's seat.
Six minutes later, India were awarded a penalty but unfortunately, Aniket Jadhav squandered the opportunity to put India back on the same page once again.
Sporting Lisbon created a few chances towards the end of the game but the Indian defenders saw off the danger to keep the scoreline unchanged.
