{"id":101,"date":"2011-10-08T03:03:18","date_gmt":"2011-10-08T03:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=101"},"modified":"2011-10-08T03:03:18","modified_gmt":"2011-10-08T03:03:18","slug":"sikkim-united-beat-iaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=101","title":{"rendered":"Sikkim United beat IAF"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>New Delhi<\/strong>: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia\u2019s return to  professional football was marked with success as Sikkim United, team co  owned by him rallied to beat Indian Air Force 3-0 in a quarterfinal  matchup in the 124th Durand Cup played at the Ambedkar Stadium here, on  Friday. Sikkimise striker who came on to play in last 15 minutes of the  game received huge roar as he walked towards the centre line to make his  professional comeback after announcing his retirement from the  international football in August this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bhutia replaced his friend Rennedy Singh in the 78th minute of the  match with score line reading 1-0. Bhutia away from football for quite  some time now did not look that polished as he was, but that did not  stop him from influencing the outcome of the match. His first real  contribution came in the 85th minute of the match, when he skillfully  set up Indian international Sushil Singh inside the box for a goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bhutia, who received a pass in the box, cleverly dribbled it past two  defenders and passed it on to Sushil just inside the 18 yard box, whose  right footer shot, was no match for diving IAF\u2019s goalie MK Jena. With  Sikkim United cruising at 2-0, the much awaited moment of the match came  when the Indian football stalwart found the back of the net. Bhaichung  who did not score a goal since May last year, brought an end to this  draught much to the delight of everyone. Daniel Bidemi\u2019s right footer at  the target off Sushil&#8217;s cross from just outside the box, rebounded, and  Bhutia seizing the opportunity nudged in a well timed header to find  the left corner of the box.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bhaichung looked extremely happy to be playing for the  team he partially owns and is enjoying the responsibility. \u201cI am happy  with the team. We played well and it was very important for us to clinch  three points. It is also very difficult to be playing for the same for  the club that you own. The pressure is huge and I have to involve myself  with lot of off the field work which keeps me away from the training  sessions,\u201d said the former Indian Captain.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bhutia was not fully fit lacked and his magical touch but  hopes to get better as he keeps playing. \u201cI am only 30% fit and I did  not train for last three weeks as I was travelling. Right now I can only  last for maximum 20 minutes, not more than that. So I need to be more  match fit before I start playing full game,\u201d said Bhaichung.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bhaichung did not dismiss the whole idea of playing and  said that his future participation would depend on the situation of the  match. \u201cYes, I would be around and my chance of playing depends on the  situation. If the team is winning, I would not, but then if not then I  would have to come,\u201d added Bhaichung.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier the first goal of the match came when, Sikkim\u2019s foreign Babatunde John headed one home, just a minute before the break.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sikkim United\u2019s coach Stanley Rozario was very impressed  with his boys and strongly feels that the momentum needs to be carried  forward. \u201cI am happy with the team. We need to sustain the momentum in  order to achieve mileage. I was happy with the way Bhaichung played. But  then we missed quite a few opportunities and we also need to work on  that as well,\u201d said the Sikkim\u2019s coach.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier the first match of the day saw the reigning  I-League champions Salgaoncar FC defeat BSF 1-0, with Chidi Edeh scoring  the goal in the 75th minute. Salgaoncar who won the recently concluded  Federation Cup are the tournament\u00a0favorites\u00a0and are vying for their  third title in a row.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Indian Sports News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>New Delhi<\/strong>: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia\u2019s return to  professional football was marked with success as Sikkim United, team co  owned by him rallied to beat Indian Air Force 3-0 in a quarterfinal  matchup in the 124th Durand Cup played at the Ambedkar Stadium here, on  Friday. Sikkimise striker who came on to play in last 15 minutes of the  game received huge roar as he walked towards the centre line to make his  professional comeback after announcing his retirement from the  international football in August this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-football-football"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sikkim United beat IAF - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sikkim United beat IAF - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Delhi: Former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia\u2019s return to professional football was marked with success as Sikkim United, team co owned by him rallied to beat Indian Air Force 3-0 in a quarterfinal matchup in the 124th Durand Cup played at the Ambedkar Stadium here, on Friday. 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