Big victory for Indian football
India defeated Malaysia 3-2 in a friendly at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday, an international match being held at the venue for the first time in five years. The opening minutes were a feisty, if frustrating affair, with some good pass and play movement matched equally by stray passes and defensive naivete. However, for all the flaws, the Indians took a deserved lead through Sunil Chettri in the 39th minute, the striker scuffing his shot but taking the chance well.The Malaysians equalised through Mohd Sali Safee,
However, once Sunil Chettri had played debutant Francis Fernandes through cleverly in the opening two minutes of the second half, the deflected cut back to Jeje provided us with a goal that would have warmed the hearts of old Bengalis sitting in a disappointingly empty stadium. Chhetri bagged a brace in the 53rd minute. And India were sitting pretty by that time at 3-1, but not for long, as a defensive error led to Safee scoring a second. The art of rigidity and discipline is still beyond a few of our players, but with calming influences like the captain, Rahim Nabi, Chettri, the new talisman post the Bhutia-years and the impressive Baldeep Singh, the Indian team might have found a few bedrocks on which to build castles, and this time they won’t be made of sand.
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