Tokyo Olympics 2020: Dangmei Grace's brace powers India to win over Indonesia in AFC qualifying opener

Mandalay: The Indian women’s national team on Wednesday registered a 2-0 win over Indonesia in its opening match of the Olympic qualifiers round two, going a step closer to making it to the 2020 Tokyo Games. Dangmei Grace’s brace (27th and 67th minute) proved to be the difference between the two teams. Maymol Rocky’s wards largely dominated the match in terms of both possession and chances created.

Stellar run 🏃‍♀😲 by Sandhiya
Rasping shot 🚀 by Sumithra
Easy pickings 😋 for Grace ⚽⚽

Final score: 🇮🇳 2⃣-0⃣🇮🇩

Watch the highlights 🎥 as India get off to a 💥 start against Indonesia in the Olympic Qualifiers Round 2!#IndianFootball #ShePower #BackTheBlue #INDIDN pic.twitter.com/cMsPJHZyr6

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 3, 2019

“We wanted to start our qualifying campaign on a winning note and we have done so. Indonesia proved to be tough opponents that committed bodies in defence but we found a way to gather three points,” Maymol said after the match. “It is important to keep the winning momentum alive and we were able to do so. We are taking one match at a time and our focus shifts on our next opponents Nepal (on 6 April),” she added. Maintaining the momentum after winning their fifth consecutive SAFF title, India applied pressure on the opponents from the opening minute. Some crafty work down the wings by Sanju and Ratanbala Devi wreaked havoc on the opposition defence, which failed to counter the Indians between the lines. Sanju’s cross in the 24th minute caused chaos in the Indonesian defence with one defender almost turning it into an own goal, before clearing the lines. In the 26th minute, Sandhiya left a trail of Indonesian defenders in her wake sidestepping one and casually rolling the ball into the space to create space for a shot. Her stinger of a shot from inside the box was saved by the Indonesian custodian Riska Julianti but Dangmei Grace applied the finishing touches from close range to give India the lead in the 27th minute. India’s defence made quick work of any Indonesian counter-attacks to equalise deficits with goalkeeper Linthoingambi Devi not being tested even once. India led 1-0 at half-time. India continued with their attacking tempo in the second half as well. Ratanbala Devi’s shot from distance in the 56th minute earned an uncanny save from the Indonesian goalkeeper as she fluffed a routine collection. Three minutes later Dangmei Grace failed to score from close range after Sanju found her with a rasping cross that bewildered the Indonesian defence line. In the 67th minute, India doubled their lead when Dangmei Grace once again applied the finishing touches to a shot from Sumithra Kamaraj, which was haphazardly parried away by Riska Julianti.