Thursday, Nov 06, 2003
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Football
By Our Special Correspondent
JCT's I.M. Vijayan (left) tries to get past Khalid Jamal (12) of Mahindra United in the Durand football tournament in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Needing just a draw, the Goan team asserted itself in the second half, after a barren first session, when it had missed chances by the dozen particularly through the hardworking Feddy Mascarenhas who did everything except beat goalkeeper Gumpe Rime. Of course, there was no doubting the supremacy of Salgaocar and it snuffed the challenge from Mohammedan Sporting with an efficient performance in the second half, slotting the goals with clinical precision, to entertain the crowd that had little else to cheer for the rest of the day. It was Dharamjit Singh who put Salgaocar ahead in the 14th minute of the second half, with a delightful volley, a left-footer that crashed into the net, after a defender had literally set it up for the Goan player with a header that was meant to clear a sharp flag-kick taken by Tomba Singh. Tomba Singh emphasised his utility yet again, when he sent a nice cross from the right, which was volleyed with ease by Felix Ibrebru. Mohammedan Sporting could not make an impression this day. Striker Chidi Edeh perspired, but could not come up with the finishing touch. He did come up with a sparkling cross from the left, but Dipendu Biswas, who had taken the field despite poor health like many of his teammates, could not avail of the opportunity. Mohammedan Sporting had played a 1-1 draw with Tata Football Academy (TFA), a team that was beaten 4-1 by Salgaocar. In the other match of the day, Mahindra United played a goalless draw against former champion, JCT, Phagwara, and made the semifinals from group `A'. Having beaten the Army XI without conceding a goal, the Mahindras was better placed to qualify before crossing swords with JCT, which had conceded a goal to the Army team. With Mahindras unable to translate its energetic play into goals, and JCT lacking the energy to match its own imaginative play, the result of the two teams against the Army team proved decisive in the eventual analysis. The crowd expected I. M. Vijayan and Jo Paul Anchery to weave some magic for JCT, but the former gave a few glimpses of his genius, while the latter struggled to make an impression. The sparse gathering had no option but to be content with the below par fare from either side, even as the gathering gloom made it look a weary exercise in front. JCT desperately tried to get that elusive goal, particularly towards the fag end of the match, after both the teams had tested each other with repeated attempts, of varying degrees of intensity. There was some drama when Vijayan delayed taking a free kick, as the Mahindras wall kept moving even as Ram Pal kept taking dummy runs to take the free kick. Eventually, Vijayan's deft kick sailed over the bar. A little later, Vijayan was a little away and a little slow to give the finishing touch when Charanjit Singh came up with a dream of a cross from the right that literally opened up the goal, with the goalkeeper Kalyan Choubey dragged to one side by the flight of the shot. Mahindra United will be able to test itself better when it takes on Salgaocar in the first semifinal on Friday. Thursday's matches: Air India v Vasco (1 p.m.); East Bengal v Dempo (3 p.m.).
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