A gift for awesome supporters

It is a night of possibilities. If Maldives win against Palestine their destiny in the tournament is in their hand. A draw and still they have a chance.

It is the 90th minute. The game is edging closer to stoppage time. A draw is more realistic now. Players from both sides are extracting every last bit of energy left of an exhausting 90 minutes. For Maldives a draw is not enough as they are depending on what is happening in Addu stadium. A goal by Myanmar at any second would throw Maldives out of the tournament. Maldivian hearts would be broken.

The final minute of the added 3 minutes are ticking away. Maldives players are trying, passing, doing everything possible to keep Palestine players off the ball. If the dogged defence of Palestine still cannot be broken, the next best option is hoping for the best and see out this match – go for a draw. Exhaustion is already taking its toll on all the players.

Referee blows final whistle. A gloom of confusion descends on the National stadium. A draw means they have to wait for the score from Addu. They could be out. That game is still going on; final minute of 4 minutes of extra time is still being played.

A nerve-racking moment indeed for every Maldivian, for Maldives to go through Kyrgyzstan must win and they are still leading by 1-0. But anything can happen. Suddenly Maldives coach Mamic leaps into the air, with coaching staff to follow. There it is. The final whistle has gone in Addu stadium and Kyrgyzstan has beaten Myanmar.

The message filters through, loud and clear. The jubilant supporters in the National Stadium go into frenzy.Maldives are into the semi-finals of AFC Challenge Cup, for the first time. Overcome by a sense of relief, an unbridled joy takes over.

A stadium bursting at its seams full of Maldives supporters breaks into joyful dancing, singing. A party starts. Flag-carrying Maldivians starts running in ecstasy. They have been waiting for a moment like this. Now the dream is on. A belief is surging through. Players’ hard work is paying off. They can do it.

A lot of credit must go to these awesome supporters. They have been magnificent throughout. Their relentless support has been so instrumental for the players to keep going with renewed energy. The disastrous first match, which they lost against Myanmar, has been completely forgotten. Their spirit has rubbed on to the players, provided a new lease of life.

Spurred on by their tremendous backing, players have come back with a vengeance to fight for their lives in this tournament. They have showed real character, belief that they could do it.

And they did in style by beating Kyrgyzstan with 2-0 in the second match. With change of personal in the defence and with a new found vigour they played some good football. Oppo brought stability, some of his passing in the middle were sublime. Shafiu reinforced dodgy defence. Adday was immense lunging into tackles.

Though Maldives needed to win this tie to stay alive and any other result means their fate is at the mercy of Kyrgyztan, a draw finally made it all possible. They showed they could defend too when the time called for it. The belief lent by the 12th player, was pushing them on not to leave anything to chance.

It is a gift for the supporters. They deserve it. Now they can dream on – a dream, players will do everything to fulfil. It is not impossible. They will fill national stadium on the night of 27th of May for semi-finals in the hope of that possibility, and if Maldives can find a way through, to go one last step further on 30th May. Yes, belief spurred on by passionate supporters can do wonders.