Sitting here as I write this down, I think back to last week when my piece started with my thought of not many players in the Super league being able to win this award twice. And now I’m here again, in back to back weeks, handing it out to another player who has already been handed the award.
Anyway, back to that in a little while. What has happened this week? A lot and that is to say the least. Even though there were only a couple of games in the Super Cup including our teams. Goa thrashed Jamshedpur 0-5 in a game including SIX red cards and Bengaluru joined them in the semi-finals beating Neroca from the I-League 3-1. And as I am writing this, East Bengal have beaten Goa 1-0 to reach the finals of the Inaugural Super Cup.
I will now pick up where I left off earlier, you know, handing out the actual award! Although the all Super league tie had all the controversy, I’m going to take you to the Bengaluru match where our winner scored a hat-trick, something all too familiar for him, Sunil Chhetri is our Player of the Week!
Vs Neroca FC 3-1 | G: 3 |
Bengaluru started this affair really quickly all fairness, with Udanta and Chhetri causing them real problems. It was this partnership which broke the deadlock for the Blues. A whipped ball in by the youngster took a deflection which landed kindly for Sunil to head home and give his side the early advantage.
The Super Cup has been an intriguing competition throughout with teams from both leagues having success in their own way. Bengaluru were one of the favourites going into the competition and they were playing like they knew that early in this one.
But, it wouldn’t all be a fairytale and as we know, the Super league clubs don’t like to make it easy for themselves. That was the case on the stroke of half time when Neroca equalised to leave them locked at the break.
Chhetri was everywhere in this one and it seemed the I-League team couldn’t handle him. The forward got his second early on the in second half after a lobbed through ball from Miku found him and in those positions he just doesn’t seem to miss! On this occasion he found the net with ease one on one with the goalkeeper.
Would it be a Bengaluru style game if there wasn’t a late goal? Well they made sure there was one in added time when that man Chhetri secured the hat-trick, cooly slotting the ball in to the bottom corner after being picked out in space by Toni.
One Game Away
Now its the semi-finals and Mohun Bagan that is in Chhetri’s and Benglauru’s way of redemption in another major cup final this season.
Should Bengaluru win they will face another I-League team in East Bengal in the final, with another opportunity to right the wrongs set in the League final against Chennaiyin, a game which seems ages ago.
Join me next week where we will have already of found out if Bengaluru can undone them wrongs with the final being played this Friday!