Houghton started with four new changes in his starting eleven that last played the AFC Challenge Cup final. He rejigged the midfield by bringing in Surkumar Singh and newcomer Anthony Pereira, N.S. Manju in the defence and Sushil upront in place of Chettri.

On his gamble to field injured striker Sunil Chettri in the second half, Houghton said: 'It was pre-planned. We had to replace Sushil at some point in the game and we decided to do it in the second half.'

'We brought in Sunil because he hasn't played more than 45 minutes in any game. So, I tried to test him out and see where he stands. We will also check him in the second match and then decide how long he can play.'

Houghton also said he was happy with the performance of newcomer Anthony, who was playing his second international match.