#3 Udanta comes up trumps
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It has been a tough last few months for Udanta Singh as his road back from injury has not been easy. But on the opening day of the new season, he calmed the nerves of everyone – himself, his team-mates, the support staff and the fans by delivering a stellar performance.
He took some time to grow into the game, but once he did, he delivered a display like the Udanta we are accustomed to seeing. He used his pace well, he pulled out all his tricks and he gave Sena Singh an incredibly tough time on Shillong’s left side. But he didn’t have a great start to the game till the goal settled him down.
The first goal was as scrappy as they come. Johnson, Juanan and Chhetri were all involved in the goalmouth scramble, that had the Shillong defence lose their bearings, but Udanta popped up in the right place at the right time, to slot home from barely a few yards out.
That was the start. After that, Udanta was a different player. He made some beautiful runs that would have been found had his team-mates taken a little more care with their passing. He was put through once by Lyngdoh in the second half, but his attempted dink over Kaith did not have enough venom in it and the keeper made an easy stop.
But barely a minute later, he made amends for his miss. He received another pass from Lyngdoh and cut the ball back on his left foot leaving Sena Singh for dead. He still had a lot to do, but he did it with aplomb as he lashed a volley past Kaith. It was a well-deserved standing ovation that he got from the crowd when he was replaced by Alwyn George in the 82nd minute.
