In Imphal tri-nation opening Thapa helps India beat Myanmar

Imphal: Anirudh Thapa led India to a clean 1-0 win over Myanmar in the opening match of the Hero Trilateral International Football Tournament at the Khuman Lampak Stadium here on Wednesday.

Given India’s dominance over their opponents in most outings, the scoreline would have been bigger, but missed chances combined with an element of luck kept the margin of victory to a minimum.
A partisan crowd filled the stands long before kick-off as the Blue Tigers put on a show that truly delighted the fans in Imphal, the city hosting its first-ever senior men’s international tie. Is.

With both teams looking to gain the upper hand in the first half, Thapa finally managed to break the deadlock in injury time, when he latched onto a stray rebound inside the box and smashed it past the keeper from close range. , to help India move forward. With a 1-0 lead going into the breather.
Myanmar may have been a little shaken by the large number of Indian supporters, but they seemed to use the feathers on the counter. However, local boy Jackson Singh, playing a holding role, stood his ground, and nipped the attacks in the bud.
India head coach Igor Stimac decided to give the Imphal crowd more reason to cheer, as he brought on Suresh Wangjam in place of Mohammad Yasir in the second half. Soon after, local boy Mahesh Singh made his debut as he and Manvir Singh replaced Bipin Singh and Changte.

India thought they had added another goal to their tally with just over a quarter of an hour of regulation time left when captain Sunil Chhetri poked home a Thapa cross, but it was ruled offside.
The Indian captain had a crack at the opposition goal just minutes later, but this time it was saved by the opposing keeper.
As the clock ran out, Ritwik Das was handed his debut, as Das and Roshan Singh replaced Akash Mishra and Thapa. Seconds before the final whistle, Myanmar’s goal was close when Suresh’s shot was saved by the defender.