Watch the highlights there are so fucking many changes in the NT ball handling Like lesser long balls less kicking the ball out ' lesser 'selfie play' and more
Hmm. It was my first sports match ever. It was an enjoyable experience to watch an international football match featuring India. From 5 pm onwards the road leading to the stadium on national highway had slow moving traffic. There was queue for taking money from SBT atm inside kerala university campus. Long serpentine queue were visible outside the stadium. Although i bought 100 rs ticket, i managed to seat in lower tier where the price is 300. Students were given free ticket as they were showing Id cards. There were different gates for entry into the stadium which had another queues. outside the stadium vuvezelas and indian football team t shirts being sold. Inside stadium, the lower tier was where people were seated most. One can see people of all age groups. Majority of them being students, some with their families and children. There were sounds of vuvuzelas throughout the match, sound of chendas, The crowd had a share of rich and poor. Bengali labourers who work in kerala, North east people, Technopark employees, apart from mallus. There was seperate sector for Afghans fans. One thing I noticed is the presence of Bengaluru FC fans with their banners in upper tier displaying West Block Blues. They are awesome.
Now some spoilers. Although in TV we stadium as master piece, in reality its different. The stands are yet to be tiled. I wonder they will do. Full of cement dust. Dust on the seats. Hawkees selling overpriced food items. The national anthem played in the beginning was not audible, nor any announcement. Maybe fans suppreessd them. Lack of electronic scorebords and giant screen(where to see the replay )
Now Good thing - ample parking space, space is not cramped, good toilets(its just the beginning, we have to see later)
The crowd went silent for few seconds when afghan scored the goal, then suddenly cheers of "India,India". "We will bounce back" went around. Then all the noise went over the roof when India scored, when India defended well, cleared the ball, Gurpreet caught the ball. Then in extra time came the winning goal. Totally fantastic. Then the cheeer continued till last final whistle.
The KSRTC had arranged the bus service of 1 bus to city in which again was full of football fans.
It was a mass expericence which I will remebmer for life. It was like watching a Vijay, Thala, Suriya, Mohan lal, Mammooty movie in a theatre where everything becomes happy at the end.
This is a very important match to win.. Otherwise our supremacy in SAFF will be questioned. Considering Afghanistan will move to central Asian zone this is a hell of that match to be won. If it was a loss they will think themselves the invincible and we will never get a chance to prove it wrong. With this win we have proved that no one can match us at least in SAFF and afghanistan can now be Bhutan in central asian zone and cursed themselves. A championship that we won by a last moment assembled team that too by a squad which was badly hit by injuries and tiredness after hectic ISL schedule. A team with out many of their key players has beaten a team comprised of Europen based players.Do we need to prove anything better than this ??? Its time to celebrate guys.. I am already on my 4th peg even though tomorrow is a working day. cheers
Great game. Enjoyed it . Both defences were shit. Afghan defence wasnt tested at all during previous games so it wasnt exposed as done my our 2 sub 5'8" strikers (jeje and sunil).
Jeje may be lazy but he can shield the ball very well. It was evident throughout the tournament. Hell , he was shielding the ball well against Blackburn Rovers at a friendly in Pune some years back. Hit the post twice. Scored. What more do we want from him?
Chhetri reaching his twilight years. Still a very good poacher, creating goals from nothing, capitalizing on slight mistakes. BB was India's best poacher until Chhetri took over from him. Scored a typical goal as he is known to score,panicky 6 foot defenders unable to deal with the chaos made by him in the box. Hail Captain Fantastic.
Bikash Jairu doesnt merit a place in the NT until he improves his creativity, vision and crossing. But i have to admit that even at 33(official age) he has a high workrate. He presses very well and runs tirelessly to help in defence. Much better players out there.
Holi also works hard, runs with all his heart, presses well, tackles well. But his first touch is bad, not so comfortable on the ball, does well in patches.He needs to put on muscle and be the second Robin of the NT. Fringe player. Can be used as sub.
Eugene reminds me of school kid when he is running (like in a park). Lacks pace, but is still useful. He is technically one of the best in India, but international games demand much more than technique. Looks comfortable on the ball but gets tackled easily. Should work on his link up play with other Mids and Forwards. Age catching up fast though. Sehnaj with his long range shooting can be an option alongwith Halder and others.
Rowlin Borges was easily the best player in the midfield. Bosses his area. Confident in tackles, skillful dribbling and good creative vision. Hard working. Good find by SC.
Defence is bad. Nervy looking but still managed to hold their own. Arnab is good in patches. Everyone gave their all and we should give them credit for that. It will need to be reworked. Narayan Das is useful. I believe we can get better defenders than Khongjee, Kotal, Augustin etc.
Stephen Constantine - Lets wait and watch what he has to offer
Comments
Like lesser long balls less kicking the ball out ' lesser 'selfie play' and more
Hmm. It was my first sports match ever. It was an enjoyable experience to watch an international football match featuring India.
From 5 pm onwards the road leading to the stadium on national highway had slow moving traffic. There was queue for taking money from SBT atm inside kerala university campus. Long serpentine queue were visible outside the stadium. Although i bought 100 rs ticket, i managed to seat in lower tier where the price is 300. Students were given free ticket as they were showing Id cards. There were different gates for entry into the stadium which had another queues. outside the stadium vuvezelas and indian football team t shirts being sold.
Inside stadium, the lower tier was where people were seated most. One can see people of all age groups. Majority of them being students, some with their families and children. There were sounds of vuvuzelas throughout the match, sound of chendas, The crowd had a share of rich and poor. Bengali labourers who work in kerala, North east people, Technopark employees, apart from mallus. There was seperate sector for Afghans fans. One thing I noticed is the presence of Bengaluru FC fans with their banners in upper tier displaying West Block Blues. They are awesome.
Now some spoilers.
Now Good thing
The crowd went silent for few seconds when afghan scored the goal, then suddenly cheers of "India,India". "We will bounce back" went around. Then all the noise went over the roof when India scored, when India defended well, cleared the ball, Gurpreet caught the ball. Then in extra time came the winning goal. Totally fantastic. Then the cheeer continued till last final whistle.
The KSRTC had arranged the bus service of 1 bus to city in which again was full of football fans.
It was a mass expericence which I will remebmer for life. It was like watching a Vijay, Thala, Suriya, Mohan lal, Mammooty movie in a theatre where everything becomes happy at the end.
Both defences were shit. Afghan defence wasnt tested at all during previous games so it wasnt exposed as done my our 2 sub 5'8" strikers (jeje and sunil).
Jeje may be lazy but he can shield the ball very well. It was evident throughout the tournament. Hell , he was shielding the ball well against Blackburn Rovers at a friendly in Pune some years back. Hit the post twice. Scored. What more do we want from him?
Chhetri reaching his twilight years. Still a very good poacher, creating goals from nothing, capitalizing on slight mistakes. BB was India's best poacher until Chhetri took over from him. Scored a typical goal as he is known to score,panicky 6 foot defenders unable to deal with the chaos made by him in the box. Hail Captain Fantastic.
Bikash Jairu doesnt merit a place in the NT until he improves his creativity, vision and crossing. But i have to admit that even at 33(official age) he has a high workrate. He presses very well and runs tirelessly to help in defence. Much better players out there.
Holi also works hard, runs with all his heart, presses well, tackles well. But his first touch is bad, not so comfortable on the ball, does well in patches.He needs to put on muscle and be the second Robin of the NT. Fringe player. Can be used as sub.
Eugene reminds me of school kid when he is running (like in a park). Lacks pace, but is still useful. He is technically one of the best in India, but international games demand much more than technique. Looks comfortable on the ball but gets tackled easily. Should work on his link up play with other Mids and Forwards. Age catching up fast though. Sehnaj with his long range shooting can be an option alongwith Halder and others.
Rowlin Borges was easily the best player in the midfield. Bosses his area. Confident in tackles, skillful dribbling and good creative vision. Hard working. Good find by SC.
Defence is bad. Nervy looking but still managed to hold their own. Arnab is good in patches. Everyone gave their all and we should give them credit for that. It will need to be reworked. Narayan Das is useful. I believe we can get better defenders than Khongjee, Kotal, Augustin etc.
Stephen Constantine - Lets wait and watch what he has to offer