Asian Cup: Australia beats India 2-0

AL RAYYAN, Qatar –

Second-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Jordan Bos broke India’s resistance as Australia began its Asian Cup campaign with 2-0 win on Saturday.

The 2015 champions dominated the Group B match at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium but struggled to find a way through India’s stubborn defence.

That was until goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu failed to claim a high cross from Martin Boyle five minutes after the break and Irvine pounced to fire home from close range.

Bos, a substitute, had only been on the field for a minute when he converted Riley McGree’s low cross at the far post to double the lead in the 73rd.

While Australia dominated on the field, it was India’s fans who made the majority of the noise among the crowd of 36,253.

High-pitched cheers rang around the stadium to greet India’s increasing number of defensive clearances as the pressure mounted. And that was amplified for India’s rare attacks on goal, such as a flying header from Sunil Chhetri in the first half that went wide.

Sandhu could have been punished for a mis-kick in the first half but recovered to stop Connor Metcalfe’s effort on goal. Irvine made no mistake from the keeper’s error in the 50th, though, setting Australia on course for victory.

The match was the first in the history of the Asian Cup be officiated by a female referee, with Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita in charge.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer