Vijayan delighted with his ward’s maiden goal
When Bengaluru FC’s thrill-a-minute forward N Sivasakthi rippled the net with an immaculate finish against Maziya S&RC (Maldives) in an AFC Cup Group D fixture in Male on Tuesday, former India striker Raman Vijayan – who was about 800 miles away from the action – burst with unbridled joy.
After all, it was one of Vijayan’s own who opened his account in senior football. The 20-year-old Sivasakthi – a product of the Raman Vijayan Soccer School
– struck a goal in just his second appearance for the BFC first team, which recorded a resounding 6-2 win over Maziya but bowed out of the competition with four points.
“Sivasakthi has the talent, but performing at the highest level is a challenge. He made good use of the opportunity. This was the moment I was waiting for. It is just the start for him. He will achieve a lot of great things in the future,” Vijayan was full of praise for Sivasakthi, who was introduced onto the pitch by Bengaluru
head coach Marco Pezzaiuoli in the 60th minute.
After receiving an Udanta Singh pass from the right, the young marksman showed his poacher’s instinct by rifling the ball into the top left corner in the 70th minute. Sivasakthi, a Sivagangai native, took only two touches before notching up BFC’s fourth goal of the match.
“Bengaluru was on the front foot when he came on and Sivasakthi had about 30 minutes to show everyone the talent he has. When he got the right ball, he converted it well. He is an exceptional finisher. People are raving about the goal he just scored, but I have seen him hit many such ones,” said Vijayan while interacting with DT Next.
“I spoke to him after the match via video call. Sivasakthi said: ‘Sunil Chhetri hugged me and praised my game. The entire team was delighted for me’,” revealed Vijayan.
Sivasakthi, a crown jewel of the RVSS during his time at the academy, had torn up the BDFA Super Division League in Bengaluru earlier this year while representing the BFC reserve team.