Back from retirement, Sunil Chhetri inspires India to first win in 489 days

SHILLONG: Sunil Chhetri justified being coaxed out of his international retirement by a beleaguered India coach Manolo Marquez with a performance on his return to the national fold, which seemed like he had never left at all. That, and a fine glancing header for his 95th career goal helped give India its first international win in over a year — after 489 days — a 3-0 scoreline against Maldives here on Wednesday.
Chhetri who started the game and stayed in the thick of things till he was substituted in the 82nd minute, helped himself to a goal in the 76th. Before that, Rahul Bheke (34) and Liston Colaco (66) had done enough to put the issue beyond Maldives’s reach.
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Marquez got his first win as India head coach and India got their first victory after over a year. They were winless in their last five international games with two of those being losses.
For the first half hour, however, both sides looked to be playing a friendly game without fire as the play lacked any quality moves at both ends of the pitch. Once Bheke scored the opener with a header from Brandon Fernandes corner from left, the complexion of the match changed for the better for the home side.
Despite the pre-game craze, the official attendance for India’s first ever international game in Shillong was a modest 6,798. On the lukewarm response, the Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) said it being a weekday as well as a friendly could be they reason for low turnout.
They were optimistic it would be a full house when Bangladesh come calling Tuesday. Still, there was enough support for Chhetri, the crowd screaming his name, and he didn’t disappoint.
The first half ended with India keeping their nose ahead with the sole lead. Five minutes after the change of ends, India found themselves with a brilliant chance to double their lead, only to be denied off the goalline by the Maldives defence.
In the 66th minute, Maldives goalkeeper Hussain Shareef forced an excellent save with his leg, but the resultant corner produced the goal India were looking for. This time Naorem Mahesh Singh curled his corner from left towards the second post where an unmarked Colaco rose to the occasion to double the advantage and broke into a Cristiano Ronaldo-like celebration near the corner flag.
But the stand erupted in joy only when Chhetri brought in his 95th strike towards the end on his international return as he flicked a header following Colaco’s assist.
Maldives barely entered the Indian territory throughout the match.