Indian Football fans were in tears, echoed the same emotion resembled by Sunil Chhetri the moment he scored his 95th and 3rd Goal for India against Maldives where Men in Blue registered victory against latter by 3-0 at Shillong.
This victory is special for Blue Tigers as it came after a period of 489 days, the victory is clear indication there is no substitute for experience.
Chhetri took his retirement back on insistence of current Coach Manolo Marquez, as AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers were on stake, legend didn’t disappoint even a bit and scored goal in 76th minute of the game.
Ahead of Captain Fantastic, two more goals were scored by India at 34th and 66th minute from Rahul Bheke and Liston Colaco respectively.
In last 1 year, Men in Blue played 5 games where they managed to lose most games and draw couple of them.
However a meager 6798 people turned out to watch that friendly game in Shillong.
Meghalaya Football Association stated “the reason for low turnout would be the game which is suppose to be held on Weekday as well as friendly game could be another reason however they believed that in the Upcoming encounter against Bangladesh they are expecting full house”
However major reasons for people turning up would be return of Captain Fantastic in Blue Jersey and people love him conditionally.
There wasn’t enough brilliance from Maldives, barring 66th minute where goalkeeper Hussain Shareef forced an excellent save and showcase brilliant collections however he needed support from other end, which they failed miserably.
The game echoed an emotional rollecoaster, when Chhetri scored header through assist from Liston Colaco.
Considering the way Madives played against India, they look vulnerable throughout the match.
Indian Football needs to grow more young players in their arsenal, where Chhetri and Manolo Marquez needs to develop more players in times to come otherwise Boys in Blue will lack big time.
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