A Mifa player (right) shielding the ball from a Chennaiyin player in a friendly match held in Petaling Jaya.
AN EVENLY matched contest went down to the wire before Malaysian Indian Football Association (Mifa) emerged winners in an international club-friendly match held at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Stadium.
They overcame visiting Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC 3-2 in penalty kicks after both teams were tied at 1-1, after 90 minutes.
Mifa which finished third in the Malaysian Premier League, started off brightly as they dominated play and went ahead in the 34th minute through a penalty converted by their Brazilian player Elizeu Araujo De Melo Batista.
However, a minute before half time, Chennaiyin managed to equalise, thanks to an opportunistic goal by Jeje Lalpekhlua.
In the second half, both sides came close to adding more goals in an entertaining game but the game ended one a piece and the winner had to be decided on penalties.
In the ensuing penalty shootout, Mifa converted three through M. Tamilselvan, G. Mahathevan and Sanjef Dinesh while the visitors only managed two through Renthlei Laldinliana and Boban Bibin.
Mifa’s Kaliveeran failed to convert his penalty while their opponents, Carlos Salom, Mohamed Rafi and Thoi Singh also failed to find the net.
Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Malaysia Nikhilesh Chandra Giri presented the challenge trophy to the Mifa team, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Datuk Windsor John handed over the medals while Mifa president Datuk T. Mohan handed over the trophy.
Chennaiyin, a two-time Indian Super League champion have been based here since mid August as part of their pre-season warm-up and have been training at the Sime Darby Football Club.
In their first friendly against a Malaysia Under-19 team, the match ended goalless. Chennaiyin is scheduled to play another two friendly matches before returning to India next week to prepare for the start of the new season that will involve their title defence and their debut in the AFC Cup.
Mifa secretary general K.V. Anba expressed hope that Chennaiyin and Mifa will strike a partnership for both teams to work together in future.
“We are in discussions to sign a memorandum of understanding with Chennaiyin for friendlies between the two sides on an annual affair, with the return leg scheduled in Chennai next year,” he said.
Both Mifa and Chennaiyin also participated in corporate social responsibility initiatives by conducting football clinics in two Tamil schools in Kuala Lumpur recently.
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