Jeje brace helps India into final

Jeje scored in both the halves while captain Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring in a match largely dominated by the hosts. However, the Maldives were able to pull back two goals and make the Indian defence sweat in the final quarter of the match.

Defensive vulnerabilities of the islanders were evident throughout. The Maldives’ back four seemed to be rattled whenever the ball was chuckled into the penalty area and the Indian forwards tested them frequently.

The Indians were dominant most of the time with better pressing and won the ball in the Maldives half often. Eugeneson Lyngdoh was prolific in the middle while the strike trio of Chhetri, Lalpekhulua and Halicharan Narzary in Stephen Constantine’s 4-3-3 formation befuddled the packed Maldivian defence with their interplay and fluent moves.

Captain Chhetri played an important role, releasing his teammates often and finding enough gaps to test the Maldivian custodian Mohammed Imran. India looked dangerous early on. In the 11th minute, Arnab Mondal was able to send the ball past goalkeeper but the goal was ruled offside as it took a deflection off Narzary. The home forwards troubled the Maldives often but were also wasteful when it came to finishing.