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India’s women’s football team achieved their largest AFC victory on June 23, beating Mongolia 13-0 bu coach Crispin Chettri emphasised the need for improvement.
Indian women’s team head coach Crispin Chettri (AIFF)
June 23 became a historic day for the Indian women’s football team as they secured their largest victory in an official AFC match, marking the fourth-largest win in the Blue Tigresses’ history.
Six months prior, in Bengaluru, India had beaten Maldives 14-0 in a friendly, and Maldives had also been defeated 15-0 by India during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. However, their most significant victory remains the 18-0 thrashing of Bhutan in the 2010 SAFF Championship. Despite the 13-0 win against Mongolia being a new record for an AFC Women’s Asian Cup (qualifiers and finals), coach Crispin Chettri believes his team has even greater potential.
“Sometimes, you don’t have to look at scorelines. You need to move on. We just need to do our job, and that is to score goals. I know scoring is not always easy, no matter who the opponents are. At the same time, we must be more clinical, more professional, and finish whatever chances come our way. We can be much better, I know.”
Despite this, Chettri was pleased with the result. The Blue Tigresses started their campaign for a spot in Australia next year on a high note, already improving their goal difference in a group where only the top team will qualify. The decisive match might come down to the final day when India faces hosts Thailand on July 5.
“I know the first match is always difficult. But at the same time, we showed character and scored goals, many more in the second half, so I’m really happy with our performance,” he said.
Chettri’s team took some time to find their rhythm, scoring only four goals in the first half. The rough and slippery pitch posed additional challenges, but once they hit their stride, they scored from all directions.
Pyari Xaxa netted five of the first six goals, with three assisted by Grace Dangmei. Although Grace didn’t score until the 12th goal from the penalty spot, her performance was noteworthy. Soumya Guguloth excelled as a dribbler on both flanks, with her crisp left-footed volley being one of the Blue Tigresses’ best goals in recent times. The Mongolia full-backs struggled to keep up with the diminutive Rimpa Haldar throughout the match.
“We took time to settle in the first 45 minutes, and then we were more composed in the second half. We moved the ball around more than running ourselves. I think that helped a lot,” said Chettri.
The second-half substitutions were equally, if not more, effective. On the right wing, Malavika continued Soumya’s momentum and scored her first goal for India. Priyadharshini Selladurai also scored, showing composure with her first touch and precision with her finish into the bottom corner.
With five days until the next match against Timor-Leste, who had a goalless draw with Iraq in their first game, Chettri and his coaching staff have areas to work on.
“Our movement on the flanks was much better in the second half. We want more composure in midfield. We want more people to take shots from outside the box. We want more variation in attack. That’s what we need to work on.
“We watched the game between Timor-Leste and Iraq. In these remaining five days, we can prepare ourselves according to what the opponents are capable of,” concluded Chettri.
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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