Pakistan, April 27 -- Pakistan showed immense grit and determination before they eventually fell to a narrow 2-1 loss to Russia in their clash of the UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on Monday.

Mohammad Essa's men fell behind early but levelled the scores in the second half through Shahraz Khan after good work by Danish Masih, only to be reduced to 10 men after which Russia capitalised.

"It was a much-improved performance after [the 4-1 loss against] Kazakhstan," said head coach Essa. "We fought for every ball, we went for every tackle. It is a result that gives us a lot of heart heading into our last game of the tournament against Azerbaijan."

Essa had vowed that Pakistan will give Russia a tough time and h...