India overpowers listless Nepal

Listless  Nepal was outplayed  by a new look India   in the first leg of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in Guwahati,Assam.

Yet another  frustrating, disappointing result for Nepal,indeed. Can it get worse than this ?  The dismal run of defeat in international tournaments for the team  continues unabated.  For die hard fans like me the setback  is difficult to digest.

Overall the team's performance was not  what everyone,including me anticipated.Prior to the show down, bot Coach Jack Stefanowski and   skipper Sagar Thapa had exuded confidence in their side. They stated that the team was well prepared and confident of performing well.

There is no need for me to elaborate on their statement that lacked truth.  The result speaks for itself. I will say though the players gave their very best but struggled physically and lacked the stamina that was required. 

In defeat Coach Stefanowski  never says anything  new . He repeats exactly the same thing without adding new detail. 

In order to please All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) , he will  not admit that the team was ill prepared  and   some players were not match fit.

Since Coach Stefanowski 's takeover of the national squad things have gone haywire. Time and time again, eyebrows have been raised  when it comes  to his role in the team's selection , preparation and approach to tournaments.

I am not critical of  the coach for the sake of it. Long as he does his job honestly sans any vested interest, he has my full backing . I fully understand the challenges  a foreign coach faces in a  country like Nepal.

The selection committee (if there is any) is largely responsible for failing to rebuild the team. They are guilty of sticking to old timers and   not reshuffling  the team to infuse fresh blood.Their  over dependence on some players is ludicrous and  baffling.

It appears though  a handful of  players are always  guaranteed a spot in the  team irrespective of their form and physical fitness. The fifty plus players summoned  for the close camp  looks though was  merely a formality.  

The Indians exploited the   gaping hole in  midfield and  offensive weakness.There has been very little  or no effort to address these weaknesses by the coaching staff. 

The  2-0   victory achieved by India puts tremendous pressure on Nepal in the  home match next week.  It would have been a lot worse had Sunil Chhetri not missed the spot kick. 

Ace striker  Chhetri scored both goals for the winners but was denied a hat-trick by custodian Chemjong who made a superb save.   By and large,the Indians were the better side and  thoroughly deserved   victory.

Nepal went into the match with high  hopes and low expectations . They were able to keep the rivals at bay in the first half and  raised a flicker of hope of the game going to a  climatic finish.

The optimism  quickly evaporated  in the second half as the boys failed to play with intensity.  They were unable to handle the pace and power that unsettled them.

There is no excuse for  Team Nepal's defeat as  they had a mediocre second half performance. They  found themselves on the receiving end for the most part and ultimately paid a heavy price for their slackness.

There are lessons  to learn  from the  hugely disappointing  loss. Nepal  is  left facing a massive task  to overcome  the  two -goal deficit  in the second leg at home .They need to improve dramatically  to stand  any chance of  victory.