Chhetri's last gasp strike ensures narrow away win for India

A DREAM FINISH from Sunil Chhetri earned India a late winner in an hard fought away game against Myanmar today. The 0-1 away win has gotten the Blue Tigers' Asian Cup Qualifiers (3rd Dound) campaign off with 3 precious away points.

Constantine stuck to his big guns and went for a rather traditional-looking 4-4-2 with a twist. Arnab Mondal was dropped for Narayan Das, Sandesh and Anas guarded the central defence, Jackichand Singh was put on the right wing and Sunil Chhetri, while free to intervene in the middle, played primarily from the left. Eugeneson and Rowllin Borges were in central midfield Jeje and Robin Singh started up front.

But the solid-looking Indian team was consistently flustered by the pace of the home team. The Myanmar youngsters came into the game with a clear plan to utilse their superior stamina and acceleration while constantly trying to lure Robin into an offside trap. India tried to keep hold of possession with limited success. 

Kyaw Ko Ko was creating chances from the get go. A surprise volley almost caught Gurpreet off guard early on but the ball did not go in. Aung Thu tried a long ranger but that missed the bar too. On the other end, Jeje was trying to put some pressure and early in the game he got a couple of long shots in but didn't really get it on target.

Soon began a series of strides by Myanmar attackers that repeatedly forced Indian defenders to intervene with fouls. Aung Thu attracted a foul from Sandesh. But next time he got past the backline and almost got hold of a cross from Ko Ko that would have been the opener had he managed to get a touch. 

Meanwhile Jackichand was making runs up the wings with a speed comparable to Myanmar attackers but his placement was way off. An early run from him ended with a poor cross, and half an hour into the game when he got a good cross from the left he miossed a golden opportunity to chip the ball over the keeper from a close range. 

Only two minutes later he missed the chance of the match. Robin Singh sent in an impeccable cross that caught the keeper off the line but Jackichand, for some unfathomable reason, failed to tap into an empty net from two feet out.

Robin and Sunil kept kept pounding away at the Myanmar back line with little success. Towards the end of the first half Sandesh Jhingan got booked for a foul on Ko Ko. As the second half wore on, set pieces became a major problem for Team India, whether free kicks earned from fouls or corner kicks earned from desperate clearances.

Pritam Kotal was introduced in the back. And a flailing Rowllin Borges was replaced as well. Udanta Singh came onto the pitch to replace a Robin Singh who still wasn't quite back to his prime, and suddenly the Indian composition looked noticeably different with Sunil Chhetri playing a central role directly behind Jeje.

But in the defensive half, chance after chance went to Myanmar. Aung Kyaw's long ranger surprised everyone but flew just over the bar. Naiang Oo nutmegged Narayan Das but Gurpreet saved that one. Frustration built up; Eugeneson got booked for a rash foul and Sunil Chhetri for back to back handballs.

But in the last 20 minutes, a familiar partnership began to take shape. Udanta with his fresh legs ran up the right (Jackichand had moved to left wing when he came on) and kept sending in pin point crosses into the box for Sunil. A penalty shout was turned down by the referee when Sunil was clearly fouled in the box about 71 minutes in. But the two kept at it, unrelenting, as the final few minutes of regulation time ticked by.

90 minutes in, Udanta floated up the wing, charging forward in a last-gap effort to correct all mistakes that India had been doing throughout the game. He came under pressure from a defender but didn't allow that to phase him. His right footed cross into the box was taken on the run. 

Sunil Chhetri saw the ball come his way. An alert keeper advanced to stop him. But the Indian captain wasn't about to let the custodian have enough time to block him. On the very first touch he directed the ball into the net.

A beautiful goal. A sublime touch to deliver a knockout blow to the host nation. Suddently, the sloppy midfield and the erring wing play, everything was made up for. Sunil Chhetri, the leader of the Blue Tigers, had delivered under pressure on a high stakes game yet again, becoming the difference between a disappointing draw that would be seen as a wasted opportunity and a dream start to India's Asian Cup Qualifiers (3rd Round) campaign with 3 points from an away game. 

While India's performance was far from perfect, an away win is unequivocally a success especially in a high stakes competition like this. The flaws can be worked on. The midfield will look much better once Pronay Halder recovers from injury. And a traditional Jackichand-Udanta wing attack with one target man up front backed up by Sunil Chhetri is something that Constantine should consider for the matches in June. But for now, he can enjoy the success of two back to back wins away from home in the middle of a tiring season.

With this win the Blue Tigers reversed the shameful history of a 9-1 to Myanmar loss at this very stadium 64 years ago. That match widely is regarded as the beginning of India's downfall in world football. This win, while not as overwhelming as that one, seems like a good place to begin the recovery process; the first step to which is re-claiming India's place in Asia's highest competiton.

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