Australia outmuscle India with 2-0 win in Asian Cup

Agency :
A physical Australia side dominated India to win their Asian Cup Group B opener 2-0 in front of a crowd largely made up of Indian fans at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar on Saturday.
After a cagey opening 45 minutes, Australia got on the board through Jackson Irvine before Jordan Bos made it 2-0 seconds after coming on as a substitute.
The encounter felt almost like a home game for India with the crowd largely made up of fans from the Indian diaspora in Doha and they made their presence felt, roaring the team on despite Australia’s early dominance.
But after being shut out in the first half, Australia silenced most of the fans with the opening goal soon after the break. Their second deflated the India team and the crowd.
“The excitement of the first game (of the Asian Cup) got to the players in the first half”, Australia coach Graham Arnold said.
“At halftime, we discussed where we could hurt India and calmed them down. We told them, ‘Just be patient and it will come’.”
The match also saw Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita become the first woman to referee a men’s Asian Cup game, with assistant referees Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teshirogi making it an all-female trio.