India Scripts A 2-0 Win Against Kyrgyz In The Finals Of The Tri-Nation Football Tournament
The Indian football head coach Igor Stimac had kept his word as promised on the eve of the match. A draw on Tuesday at Imphal’s Khuman L Stadium would have made India the winner of the tri-nation football tournament. But as promised, the team had shown a brilliant display of skills during the game and won the final match 2-0 against the Kyrgyz Republic.
In FIFA rankings the Kyrgyz team holds the ninety-fourth rank while the Indian football team is in the hundred and sixth rank. During the match whenever there was an opportunity team India raided the goalpost of the opposition. In the eighty-fourth minute during such an attack from the Indian side, the defense of the Kyrgyz Republic shattered under pressure when N M Singh had brought down within the penalty box by Nikolai.
The spot kick was certainly an award that became the reason for double delight for Indian fans. When S Chettri scored the second goal the fans were sure that this game was going to end with a one-sided result. But for Chhetri, the goal was extra special. It was his eighty-fifth strike, as the India captain is in the twilight years of his career.
Chhetri had indeed been a legendary player for India and during this match too he had led from the front. When it was needed the captain stepped up and made a kick and then a strike at the corner of the net bringing the second goal for team India.
On the whole, throughout this tri-nation series, the host team India had been the deserving winner. It was India’s fifth straight win on the home ground. In the previous match against Myanmar, the head coach of team India had brought in six changes but it never disturbed the rhythm of the team. On the contrary, India would have won this match by a bigger margin. The defense of the Kyrgyz Republic was very loose. Chhetri too had made several attempts at the goalpost which missed very narrowly.
During the match, there had been important contributions from Sandhu and Mishra too. When Gulzhigit of Kyrgyz had made a shot at the India goalpost, Sandhu had made the crucial save for India. Mishra too had made important clearance all through the match whenever the situation arose.
Even though the defense of the opposition team seemed much weaker in the game but they tried their best to remain in the game by saving some important shots which might have taken to a huge margin defeat. Chhangte from the Blue Tigers had put a cross inside the box which the teammates had failed to capitalize into a goal. Although things were stable for India during the game but, there was a break in the momentum when Mishra suffered an injury and had to leave the field for treatment. On the whole, India put up a great show during the match which left the fans very happy.
Goals from both Jhingan and Chhetri not only made India win both games in the tournament but also helped to maintain clean sheets too.
