India play out 1-1 draw with Vietnam in international football friendly

Manolo Marquez will have to wait for his first win as India head coach as his team played out a 11 draw in an entertaining India vs Vietnam international football friendly match on SaturdayVietnam took the lead in the 38th minute through Nguyen Hoang Duc before Farukh Choudhary equalised in the 53rd minute at the Thien Truong Stadium around 100 km from HanoiIn Marquezs two matches as head coach so far India drew against Mauritius and lost 03 to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup in Hyderabad last monthRanked 116th Vietnam are 10 spots higher than India 126th in the FIFA rankingsIn an eventful first half India goalkeeper and captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stopped a penalty kick awarded to Vietnam in the 10th minute after Rahul Bheke fouled a home side attacker Vietnam captain Que Ngoc Hais shot however went straight to SandhuTwo minutes before that Choudhary was let free in an Indian attack but his leftfooter from just outside the box was stopped by Vietnam goalie Nguyen FilipVietnam were on the ascendency as the match progressed and Nguyen Van Toans shot in the 17th minute went just wide off the markAlso Read Standard of football in agegroup events must improve in India BhutiaIn the 27th minute India also got a chance but again Choudharys leftfooted shot from a difficult angle off a pass from Brandon Fernandes could not beat the Vietnam goalkeeperChau Ngoc Quans almost gave Vietnam the lead in the 32nd minute when he outsmarted an Indian defender with his turn and his leftfooted curler beat Sandhu but the ball went wide of the post by few inchesVietnams goal eventually came six minutes later Bui Vi Haos volley from inside the box deflected from an Indian defender and Gurpreets outstretched leg was able to touch the ball but not enough to send it out of harms wayAll Nguyen Hoang Duc had to do was just push the ball into the open net from the goallineIndia played much better in the second half They had periods of dominance and also found the equaliser in the 53rd minuteDefender Anwar Ali sent a long aerial ball from near the centre line and Choudhary won an aerial duel with Vietnam captain Que Ngoc Hai rather easily and he chipped the ball over an onrushing goalie Nguyen Filip into the empty netTen minutes later Lallianzuala Chhangtes chip into the Vietnam box almost found Choudharys feet but the home side goalkeeper was able to lay his hand on the ballIndia called the shots in the initial period of the second half and the Blue Tigers rattled the home teams defence quite often In the meantime Choudhary was substituted by Edmund LalrindikaIn the 71st minute Chhangtersquos shot took a deflection and went out for a cornerBut from there on Vietnam came back strongly and dictated terms in the last 15 minutes They created a series of scoring chances but could not convert any of themIn the 79th minute Sandhu made a brilliant reflex save to deny Van Vursquos snap shot from inside the boxThree minutes later central defender Anwar Ali made a goalline save as he headed out a goalbound shotOriginally India were to play in a triNation tournament but Lebanon pulled out citing difficulties in flying out of the country due to the ongoing crisis at home The tournament was planned in the FIFA international match window from October 715India were earlier scheduled to play against Vietnam on October 9 and against Lebanon on October 12 before Lebanons pulling out left them to play just one matchWith agency inputs