Nepal let down by poor finish

As a staunch supporter   I wanted Nepal to get off to a  dream start in the opener against fancied Maldives in the ongoing SAFF Championship in New Delhi, India.  I had my head scratching, following Sri Lanka’s opening goal at the fag end of the first half.

Thanks to central defender Sandip’s   magnificent header in the    opening minutes of the second half we were able to restore parity. Although   the match concluded in a 1-1 draw, clearly, we should have prevailed considering the fact that we controlled the proceedings   from start to end.

Without a doubt we were the better side in every department of the game and had the opponent frantically defend their citadel. The boys   played   aggressively   and spiritedly, and  they never  allowed  the   opponent to settle down.

The defense   looked rock solid and held their ground. The mid-fielders   came up big, especially Bijay Gurung   who marshaled the moves   with clinical precision.

Upcoming  Rabin Shrestha was another player  to have captivated  my imagination. In the role of an over lapping   defender   the   wiry youngster   worked tirelessly.  At the end of the day, obviously,  poor  finish and inability to cash in on scoring chances  let us down.

No matter how good  we play it becomes  irrelevant if we fail  to score. The attack spearheaded by experienced  Anil,  Santosh and Jumanu  did show flashes of  brilliance, coupled with  cohesion but lacked  killer  punch, penetration and good finish. By and large, they were far from their best and personally I am somewhat disappointed.

The sloppy   and erratic performance of Maldives   took me by surprise. They were fortunate to have  weathered the storm. 

Football observers and media people have   heaped praises on Nepal’s performance and  they  seriously  believe  that we  have the potential to win the championship, that we  all have yearned for  so long.

We  did squander the chance to  register  an outright win ,however, the result  is a  morale booster. It  would be  premature  for Coach Roberts to bask in the glow of success  because  this is only the beginning.

In his post match interview the British Coach   sounded very optimistic   about Nepal’s chances, which was expected.

That said , it is very important that we do   not   get carried away  needlessly.We need to stay  composed, focused and perform  consistently  for further success.Bangladesh and Pakistan might have looked   mediocre in their listless   goalless draw,   but   they   are tough outfits to overcome.

If they up the ante just a bit, it could   make a  big difference for  the team in terms of performance. I do hope Coach Roberts succeeds in his endeavor.

The manner in which the championship has panned out, the race is wide open.The huge  Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, venue  of the   championship   has been devoid of spectators.This clearly indicates lack of support for the tournament, something to worry about.

Well into its ninth edition the competition is yet to grow in   popularity and stature. The quality of play that is sub-standard   has kept away football goers   from   the  championship.The four  matches  we witnessed are testimony to this.

For the moment let us  all  become  part of the championship and enjoy every minute of the action.