IMPHAL: In front of about 30,000 spectators at the Khuman Lampak Stadium in this city on Tuesday, the Indian team displayed inspiring football against the higher-ranked Kyrgyzstan to snatch a 2-0 victory and win the Tri-national international tournament trophy with an all-win record and without conceding a goal.
The event was held between March 22 and March 28 under the FIFA window, and Croatian coach Igor Stimac and his players made the most of it by winning both of their games.
The Sunil Chhetri-led team started their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Myanmar, and after defeating Kyrgyzstan with a pretty decisive score, they found themselves in the advantageous position of finishing the competition with six points from two games.
Sandesh Jhingan, a center-back, found the back of the net in the 34th minute to give India the lead over Kyrgyzstan. Jhingan pounced like a panther to score as Brandon Fernandes skillfully placed the ball in front of the opposing goalmouth off a free kick.
Tokotaev Erzhan, the keeper for Kyrgyzstan, was dreadfully mistaken if he thought the tall Indian defender would go for a header since Jhingan patiently waited for the ball to drop before deftly swinging it to give India the lead. It wasn't by accident that the throng turned the merriment into a brief period of wildness.
On the night of the game, Indian coach Stimac discussed going for all-out attacks even though a draw would have been sufficient to keep the trophy at home. He most definitely honoured his word, as India repeatedly raided the opposing goal whenever they had the chance.
In one such raid in the 84th minute, Naorem Mahesh Singh was hauled down by Davydov Nikolai within the penalty area, putting pressure on the Kyrgyzstan defence.
For the home supporters, receiving the penalty kick was undoubtedly a double thrill. In addition to scoring India's second goal, Sunil Chhetri, the team's captain, scored his 85th international goal overall. The delight of the crowd knew no boundaries when the legendary Indian football player walked up to receive the kick and then strike it to the corner of the net.
Stimac was seen grinning widely and hugging his assistant coach Mahesh Gawli, who used to be Chhetri's teammate in the National Team, when Chhetri calmly returned to his position after performing something that he has been doing routinely for the Blue Tigers since 2006.
Ultimately, India was the rightful victor, as this was their fifth consecutive victory at home. Stimac made six changes to the lineup from the one that faced Burma, but the modifications had little effect on their flow. India may have won by a larger margin because Chhetri and Chhangte's shots on goal for Kyrgyzstan had a few close calls and barely missed the goal.
If hosting the event was primarily intended to prepare for the AFC Asian Cup in January of next year, then it was unquestionably a success as the Indians showed a marked increase in confidence before to taking on the crucial continental task.
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