The Indian football team capped off a disappointing calendar year with a 1-1 draw to lower-ranked Malaysia at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad. With this result, they now have an undesirable record of finishing the year without a single win and among the 11 matches this year, they’ve played the war-torn nation of Afghanistan twice and even minnows Mauritius.

Though the match against Malaysia on Monday lacked pace, new coach Manolo Marquez will take home plenty of positives. Apart from a shocking howler by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, which gave the visitors their only goal, the Indian defence was quite solid.

The defensive midfield duo of Apuia Ralte and Suresh Singh put on a tireless shift. There were also signs that Marquez’s tactics and strategies were finally being put into action by the outfield players with the likes of Brandon Fernandes and Lallianzuala Chhangte combining well with the forwards.

.@RahulBheke's fiery header helps India ???????? draw 1-1 with Malaysia ????????

Report ???? https://t.co/LcOUnYdT90#INDMAS #BlueTigers ???? #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/kytBbyuW46

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) November 18, 2024

The search for a striker to replace the retired Sunil Chhetri is still very much on and Marquez handed that responsibility to debutant Irfan Yadwad. The towering Chennaiyin striker showed that he could be part of the solution, running into spaces, latching on to crosses and putting pressure on the opponent’s defence. But as has been the story this year, India simply struggled to find the eccentricity that is sometimes needed to win in international football. Despite myriad crosses into the box, holding play and counters down the flanks, there was nothing clinical and they paid for it.

Then there’s the howler which gave Malaysia the lead that Gurpreet wouldn’t ever want to watch the replay of. In the 19th minute, a Malaysian defender cleared the ball towards the Indian goal. Gurpreet came way off his line though there wasn’t any real danger. Instead of waiting back and kicking or collecting it, he decided to go forward and head the ball but completely misjudged the bounce. It went over his head, handing Malaysian forward Paulo Josue a freebie. He just controlled the ball with a touch and tapped it into the empty net with his left foot.

While India kept knocking on the door, they managed to get their equaliser 20 minutes later thanks to a superbly executed corner. Brandon’s kick from the right found Rahul Bheke in space, who calmly headed it into the net. Credit must also go to India’s skipper of the night Sandesh Jhingan. Returning to the national team after almost a year following knee surgery, Jhingan did well to hold two defenders, making space for Bheke to make his run.

It ends all square in Hyderabad.#INDMAS #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/mHfNxTNTgj

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) November 18, 2024

After the equaliser, India really took the game to their opponents. Brandon, Farukh Choudhary, and Irfan combined well to create opportunities on the left, but the Malaysian central defence was solid too. Brandon and Chhangte whipped in a variety of crosses, but never really got the perfect ball in. It was also the case of Irfan being the only target man up front.

As India gear up for the Asian Cup qualifiers in March next year, they have to find a solution to this problem. With Indians not playing as strikers for their clubs, having a lone striker for the national team can get too demanding for the player. Most of the crosses that came in had to be perfectly placed for Irfan, and if it wasn’t— as was the case on Monday — it just ended up falling in no man’s land.

Despite the drawn result, Marquez would have seen what his team is capable of, especially in defence. But he’ll also know that there’s plenty of work that needs to be done and the search for a striker is just the start of it.