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Chettri double gives India 3-1 win over Portugese club side

Sunil Chettri scored twice as India thrashed Portuguese second division side Uniao Desportiva da Serra 3-1 in their first practice match of the week at the Pope John Paul II stadium, Fatima here.

Lisbon: Sunil Chettri scored twice as India thrashed Portuguese second division side Uniao Desportiva da
Serra 3-1 in their first practice match of the week at the Pope John Paul II stadium, Fatima here. Sushil Kumar Singh struck the third goal for India, while Uniao Desportiva da Serra midfielder Pedro managed the sole scoring strike for the hosts. India started off impressively and made numerous inroads in the opponent citadel. Their hard work finally paid off in the 35th minute with Kansas City Wizards striker Chettri heading in Anthony Pereira`s cross from the left flank. India successfully held their one goal advantage and went for the breather with a 1-0 lead. India made three changes prior to the start of second session, Clifford Miranda came in for Steven Dias, while Mehrajuddin Wadoo made his way in the midfield replacing Climax Lawrence. Abhishek Yadav joined Chettri up front replacing Mohammed Rafi but barely a couple of minutes into the second half, the Mumbai FC striker suffered a knee injury and was replaced by Sushil Kumar Singh. India gave away the lead in the 56th minute conceding a spot kick, on which Pedro made no mistake to bring the hosts back in to the match. Chettri was soon in thick of things again and completed his brace heading in Sushil Kumar Singh`s cross in the 75th minute to put India back in front, while five minutes later Sushil registered his name on the score-sheet heading in James Singh`s flag-kick to seal an impressive victory for the side. PTI