Sharjah: India crashed out of the AFC Asian Cup as Bahrain qualified for the pre-quarterfinals in dramatic circumstances thanks to Jamal Rashed’s injury-time penalty at the Shrajah Stadium here, Monday.
It was ‘so near yet so far’ situation for Stephan Constantine’s men as they played their heart out till 90 minutes before a foolish error cost them dearly.
The Blue Tigers were heading through from the group stage for the first time in their history with the scores level after 90 minutes. But when Hamed Alshamsan was tripped by India captain Pronay Halder in the box, Rashed stepped up to win the game and turn Group A around in the 91st minute.
Sayed Dhiya Saeed wasted a series of early chances for Bahrain, who had scored only once in their previous two games at the tournament.
Rashed thought he had given Bahrain the lead when he raced clear to beat goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, but the strike was ruled out by a marginal offside call.
Sandhu’s handling of a backpass gave Bahrain a huge chance to win it in the 74th minute but they could not make the indirect free-kick count, Rashed seeing his 12-yard shot deflect over the crossbar.
But another golden opportunity came his way in the closing stages when Alshamsan went to ground under a clumsy challenge from Halder, referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointing to the spot.
Rashed made no mistake, smashing the spot-kick down the middle, with his penalty ensuring Bahrain will go through as one of the top third-placed sides, while India are out after finishing bottom of Group A.
