New Delhi: Jeje Lalpekhlua struck in the second half with a header as India beat Laos 1-0 in their first-leg encounter of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at the New Laos National Stadium, in Vientiane, on Thursday.

Full points from this game gave India the crucial advantage of an away win, which should come in handy when the two sides meet again at the return leg in Guwahati on June 7.

In Guwahati next Tuesday, India will have hold on to the lead to make the main rounds of the qualifiers. A slip-up could see India having little international engagements in the next one year.

India were without many of their regular players like Rowlin Borges, Pronoy Halder and Robin Singh, but they gave a good account of themselves from the very beginning.

Playing in the 4-3-3 formation, India made the first notable attack in the seventh minute but Jeje was caught off-side. He was caught off-side once again a few minutes later just when he was planning to raid the rival defence in tandem with skipper Sunil Chetri.

Stephen Constantine's boys held the upper hand in the second half too, but barring the goal by Jeje, they could not split open the Laos defence any further.

The victory must have come as a huge relief for Constantine too, as there were rumours about the All India Football Federation (AIFF) planning to look for a new coach if India failed to make the Asian qualifiers.

Constantine, however, said that he wasn't too pleased with the performance. "Laos made it difficult for us running all around. But we can play much better than this," he maintained in official post-match press conference.

"We have just won the first half and go into our home match with a slight advantage. Hopefully, we can win at home," he added.

When reminded about breaking the jinx by scripting an away win in a qualifier since 2001, Constantine didn't seem much willing to read into it. "I never care about records," is all what he said.

India started the second half brightly with Jeje giving them the lead in the 54th minute with a fine header off Udanta Singh's assist to continue his rich vein of form.

Constantine made an intriguing change in the 71st minute, hauling off the impressive Jeje for the young Sumeet Passi. Almost immediately, Moukda turned past Eugeneson Lyngdoh and shot from about 25 yards but couldn't place it on target.