Ratings: Naorem Mahesh silver-lining in India's Merdeka Cup loss

India lost by 2 goals

India suffered a 4-2 loss to Malaysia in controversial fashion in their 2023 Merdeka Tournament semi-final clash on Friday, 13 October. The hosts raced into an early lead in the 7th minute after Dion Cools produced an emphatic finish.

However, Naorem Mahesh Singh equalized the game with an impressive goal six minutes later. Malaysia regained the lead in the 20th minute thanks to Arif Aiman’s penalty, before Mohammed Faisal Halim capped off the hosts’ dominant first-half display by making it 3-1 in the 43rd minute.

India got one back in the 53rd minute through Sunil Chhetri and should’ve levelled the game three minutes later. Lallianzuala Chhangte slipped in a shot past the goalkeeper and it went behind the line, but the referee nor the linesman were able to catch it and robbed the Blue Tigers of a goal. Malaysia added insult to injury by scoring a 4th in the 61st minute through La’Vere Corbin-Ong to wrap up the win.

Here are the Player Ratings for the game.

Malaysia Player Ratings (By Keshava Verma)

Syihan Hazmi – 6.5

Conceded the firstly cheaply, and was not very confident with his clearances as well. Made a great save in the 73rd minute to deny India their third

Dominic Tan – 6

Struggled all night long to contain India’s attack, and wasn’t very effective with his defensive duties.

Matthew Davies – 6

Matthew was impressive with his passing, and made some great moves from the right flank. The defender however was caught lacking in an advanced position, and couldn’t track back on time.

Dion Cools – 6.5

Made a great impact by scoring Malaysia’s first goal, but otherwise had a tough time defending Mahesh and Sahal in the wings.

Arif Aiman Hanapi – 7

Scored Malaysia’s second goal with an excellent spot kick, and posed immense danger in the attack. Arif also made several forward runs, and was quite active in the midfield.

Nooa Laine – 5.5

Wasn’t very involved in the game, and didn’t make any real impact. His defensive duties were also underwhelming.

Endrick – 8

Endrick was an engine in the midfield, making important interceptions and blocks, and also threading important passes to help facilitate Malaysia’s attack.

La’Vere Corbin-Ong – 8.5

‘Had an amazing night as he linked up with Malaysia’s front three perfectly, and got a goal to his name with a beautifully placed goal. Other than that, Corbin-Ong also made some great forward runs.

Akhyar Rashid – 7.5

Rashid made a number of chances, and was lethal in his link up with Lok and Halim upfront.

Darren Lok – 8

Despite not having scored a goal, Lok was exceptional at the front for Malaysia. The striker won Malaysia a penalty in the first half, and was on point with his pressing, that suffocated India’s defense into making dubious passes.

Faisal Hamed – 9

Faisal was Malaysia’s best player on the pitch tonight. The winger had one goal and one assist to his name, and terrorised Akash Mishra with his quick feet and pace.

Substitutions

Stuart Wilkin – 6

Was decent with his attacking contributions towards the end of the game.

Junior Eldstal – N/A

Came in the 76th minute, and helped in holding off India’s attack.

Sergio Aguero – 5

Made no real impact in the game whatsoever in the little time he had

India Player Ratings (by Uttiyo Sarkar)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu – 5.5

Gurpreet couldn’t really do much about the goals because of how clinically they were put aside. Made a few nice saves to avoid further embarrassment.

Nikhil Poojary – 4.0

Poojary had a tough time against Malaysia’s speedy movement down his side. Made a reckless foul leading to their penalty and was caught in no man’s land for some of their other goals too.

Sandesh Jhingan – 4.5

Jhingan failed to command together a strong backline and made a bad error leading to the first, failing to clear the ball. Couldn’t calm down his teammates and struggled under the conditions too.

Mehtab Singh – 4.0

Mehtab struggled to move the ball forward and made an awful mistake leading to their third goal. Struggled to read their moves properly and left in poor positions on multiple occasions.

Akash Mishra – 3.5

Mishra had a nightmare against Mohamed Faisal. The electric winger ran rings around him for most, outwitting him on multiple occasions. Left India’s left side exposed and uncharacteristically error-prone.

Suresh Singh – 6.5

Suresh was a bit erratic in losing the ball in bad areas, but showed decent spirit to win a lot of battles in midfield and clatter opponents with crunching tackles.

Rohit Kumar – 6.0

Rohit was quite energetic in the game, covering a lot of distance to do his best to neutralize some of Malaysia’s attack. Added little attacking threat though.

Sahal Abdul Samad – 7.0

Sahal produced a delightful assist for Naorem’s strike, and produced a brilliant flick for him. Played a key role in Chhangte’s disallowed goal and also hit the post in the first half. Grew weary towards the end and wasted some big chances.

Naorem Mahesh Singh – 8.0

Arguably India’s biggest threat in the game. Mahesh tormented Malaysia’s defenders with his sprints and clever movement around the final third. Scored an emphatic goal and also set up a few major chances with his lively delivery, including his brilliant pass that helped set up Chhetri’s goal.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 7.5

Chhangte probably had one of his unluckiest games in recent memory. The Mumbai City winger was a menace on the right, making some clever runs to outwit his marker. His delivery was impressive, as he smartly set up Chhetri’s goal and Chhangte had a clean goal ruled out after an impressive finish. Then hit the post after that, going so close to scoring but not having an official goal.

Sunil Chhetri – 6.5

Chhetri was barely involved in the first half, but showed impressive predatorial instincts by scoring India’s second. Struggled to impose himself because of the tight marking.

Substitutes

Naorem Roshan Singh – 6.0

Added more defensive security to the left after coming on.

Liston Colaco – 6.0

Made a few nice runs and tested the goalkeeper late on with a powerful shot.

Nandhakumar Sekar – N/A

Set up one late chance for Colaco in his cameo.

Udanta Singh – N/A

Had an uneventful late cameo.

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