India vs Pakistan: U-16 girls defeat arch-rivals 4-0 in AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualifier

Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), September 19: The Indian U-16 girls' team dished out another stellar performance in the ongoing AFC U-16 Women's Championship Qualifier, churning out a 4-0 win against arch-rivals Pakistan at the MFF Stadium in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday (September 19).

While Avika Singh (22nd) opened the scoring for India, Pakistani goalie Ayesha (41st) conceded an own goal just before half-time. Sunita Munda (82nd) added another in the second half, while skipper Shilky Devi (88th) sealed the win for India in style. With this result, India are firmly seated at the top of the Group B, having collected six points from two matches.

India U-16 girls stay at the top of the table, as they bag all three points against Pakistan in the @theafcdotcom U16 Women's Championship qualifiers. #ShePower #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/Mo1f6QTruY

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 19, 2018

Sunita, Shilky and Avika combined well to wreak havoc on the attacking third but the opposition defenders were able to handle the pressure until the 22nd minute when Avika struck the opening goal for India.

Sunita breezed past the left-back to deliver a low cross for Avika, whose well-timed tap-in earned India the lead.

Pakistan were happy to sit back in their own half and defend. Goalkeeper Ayesha made some exquisite saves during the course of the game but a miscued effort from her in the 41st minute landed inside the goal to hand India a 2-0 lead.

We expected to score a few more goals today but we are satisfied with the result and look forward our next match now, says Avika Singh. #ShePower #BackTheBlue #WeAreIndia #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/uKVTuc12hA

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 19, 2018

After the changeover, India continued to mount more pressure on Pakistan. The third goal came in the 82nd minute when Sunita, the architect of Avika's goal, got her name on the score sheet.

Six minutes later, skipper Shilky latched on to another attack down the middle and kept her calm to score the fourth goal of the game, which eventually nailed the final one in the coffin.

India are scheduled to take on hosts Mongolia in their next match on Friday, September 21.

Result: India 4 (Avika Singh 22, Ayesha 41 og, Sunita Munda 82, Shilky Devi 88) bt Pakistan 0

India XI: Manisha (GK), Jyoti Kumari, Ritu Devi, Pinku Devi (Priyangka Devi 46th), Priyanka Sujjesh, Anju, Poonam, Kiran, Sunita Munda, Avika Singh (Varsha 78th), Shilky Devi (C).

Source: AIFF Media