India thrash Puerto Rico to register a memorable victory

by Siddharth Yadav September 4, 2016

After a shaky start, India thrashed Puerto Rico 4-1 at an almost-packed Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday night. Stephan Constantine’s side was trailing 1-0 firing four goals past against a helpless Puerto Rico defense.

This was the first International match in Mumbai since India played USSR back in 1955, and it did prove to be a memorable one for all the Mumbaikars.

Puerto Rico started pretty well as compared to their counterparts and soon they got what they wished for. Defender Pritam Kotal’s reckless challenge on Elliot Velez inside the box gave Emmanuel Sanchez a good chance to put the traveling team in front from the spot. The number 9 send Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the wrong way to put Puerto Rico ahead in the seventh minute.

India responded well and equalized the score in the 19^th minute. Jeje Lalpekhlua and Bikash Jairu linked up brilliantly in the final third where the latter was fouled just outside the box. Sunil Chhetri stepped up and saw his curling free kick rattled the bar before left-back Narayan Das scored from a rebound to restore the parity.

The men in blue started to settle into the game and soon became a potent threat for Puerto Rico. Five minutes after equaling the score, India was once again awarded a crucial free kick outside the box when Sunil Chhetri was blocked by Emmanuel D’Andrea.

And this time, Sunil Chhetri converted the free kick himself to put India in front. 6894 fans inside Mumbai Football Arena erupted in joy after Chhetri’s delightful free kick.

Three minutes later, Jeje Lalpekhlua missed an important chance which would have made 3-1 for India. Jackichand Singh’s amazing skills left Jacob Conde helpless who went on to provide Jeje with a pinpoint ball where the latter blasted his shot over the bar.

India started to build more pressure and put the match beyond Puerto Rico’s reach when Jeje Lalpekhlua headed in from Sunil Chhetri’s effort to make it 3-1 for the Blues.

The second-half was bit of dull affair. Both the teams missed their chances and the only goal came from Jackichand when he slotted past Puerto Rico’s goalkeeper Johnny Santana in the 58^th minute.

India comfortably ended the match without facing any potent threat from Puerto Rico. First match in Mumbai in the last 61 years and it was an electrifying one, indeed.