Nehru Cup Comment: Why Wasn't The Grass Chopped?

The usual reaction of fans when they see their team not win is: The coach could have done this or why was XYZ playing or sometimes the referee or, if the match is held in the Indian subcontinent, it’s the ground.

While some of it may be true, it’s essential to stand by your team through thick and thin. Only if you do that do you qualify as a fan. Anyways, India were to play their first game at home in over a year and obviously the expectations of the crowd were high, given the last result on the Ambedkar Stadium where the AFC Challenge Cup was won.

The last 15 minutes of the first half saw India have two good chances, which were probably the best in the game. A Steven Dias’ flag-kick was headed by an unmarked Sushil Singh towards the post, which was followed by the Mahindra United striker trying to find the Lebanese goalkeeper Mehanna off his line but the shot was punched out in time.

It was utterly surprising to see that the player who looked the most threatening for India was substituted. Though coach Bob Houghton later explained that it was a planned strategy to use Sushil and Chhetri in each half, probably the Manipuri deserved to stay a little longer after an impressive half.

The ‘what if’ question would probably be doing the rounds now that the result has not been in favour of India. In the second half, India didn’t look menacing to find an equaliser apart from the first 10 minutes or so.

Add to that Anthony Pereira having a bad day at the office and the Dempo star looked half his self as he couldn’t string together any constructive move. Whenever the ball went to him, it would either to go the opposition either through miss-pass or bad judgement. At Dempo, where he has become their most important player in the last two seasons, Anthony plays on the right wing. Though one may state that he was used on the left wing in the freindlies played in Barcelona, at least going by the first game last evening, the move didn’t work.

There’s something called as ‘home’ advantage in most sports. Why? The host nation is better accustomed to the conditions, weather, pitch and hence, know what works to get the best result. Also, the tournament committee ensures that the fixtures and the grounds are according to what shall best suit their team.            

Even in cricket, you have India asking for a spinning wicket when playing at home as it would favour them. Houghton mentioned in his post-match conference that his team wouldn’t be able to play good football on the Ambedkar Stadium in the present state of the field. He added that the grass was “too high” and should have been sliced earlier.

What does this indicate?

The Nehru Cup Committee didn’t consult Bob Houghton, which they should have, on the ground conditions. When you have an experienced coach like Houghton, his services must be utilized to the utmost.

The organising committee would claim that they had their own issues to contend with as they raced against time to get the stadium ready for the tournament after the Independence Day festivities. The ‘pandal’ was supposed to be cleared by 17th, but it never happened for whatever reasons. It was only a day before the tournament kick-off was the ground allocated to the organisers to ensure that it’s in order.

This mismanagement of the whole affair was partly to blame, if Houghton’s statements are to go by with.

On the footballing side, it’s too early to pass judgements as to whether the tour to Barcelona did or didn’t help, as some fans have been stating. PATEINCE!

By next game, the grass will be chopped and hopefully, you could see a much improved performance.

Guys, it was only the first game. So, RELAX and stop worrying.   

Rahul Bali.