Turkey , Feb 25
The India U20 women’s team ended their Pink Ladies U20 Youth Cup campaign with a 0-3 defeat to Russia at the Emirhan Sport Center here on Tuesday.Russia scored twice inside the first 17 minutes and added another soon after the restart before India created a handful of opportunities to get on the scoresheet but ultimately came out empty-handed. The Young Tigresses had beaten Jordan 2-1 and Hong Kong 1-0 last week. For India, these friendly matches were part of their preparations for the SAFF U20 Women’s Championship and the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will take place in July and August, respectively.It was an end-to-end start, with both India and Russia having a go at each other’s defence in the first 10 minutes. While Lhingdeikim saw her 20-yard effort dip on top of the net, Arina Shuba forced Moirangthem Monalisha Devi to make a one-on-one save. Gradually, Russia began to exert control and India were pinned inside their defensive third. Getting on the end of a free-kick from Tatiana Danilochkina, Mariia Nachaeva headed into the far corner to open the scoring in the 15th minute. Less than two minutes later, Polina Pavlova doubled the lead with a solid 20-yard half-volley that rocketed into the top corner. After that blitz, India regrouped and dished out a better defensive performance until the end of the first half. However, Natalia Perminova got Russia on the scoresheet again just two minutes after the restart, side-footing a cutback from 10 yards out. India became desperate to get something from the game and ventured forward more frequently.
