The Hindu : Sport / Football : It's Bengal vs. Punjab

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 03, 2004

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Sport - Football

It's Bengal vs. Punjab

KOLKATA, JUNE 2. Defending champion Bengal sailed into the final of the 13th edition of the National under-21 football championship by beating host Bihar 3-0 in the second semifinal held at Jamalapur Railway Stadium in Bihar's Munger district.

Punjab joined Bengal in the title round with a 3-2 verdict completing the unfinished first semifinal against Goa, which was abandoned by inclement weather on Tuesday after 66 minutes of action. The final will be played on Friday.

Punjab, which led 2-0 in the overnight action, enhanced its lead to 3-0 as Sunil Kumar scored from a penalty in the 69th minute. Goa fought back with Bernardo Pires reducing the margin in the 76th minute before Marcus Peixodo made it 2-3 in injury time.

Punjab, however, withstood the late barrage and did not concede any more goals to ensure the final berth.

The match, which had seen a player from each side being ejected for fighting on Tuesday, saw more bad blood on Wednesday and this time it was the Goa manager, Fairo A. Barrek, who was given the marching orders for interfering with the proceedings.

Bengal proved too strong for the host, which was thrashed 3-0. Striker Rahim Nabi - scoring his sixth goal of the match - put Bengal in the lead in the 11th minute. Sheikh Habib Ali doubled the lead in the 26th minute while Gauranga Dutta completed the tally for the defending champion in the 85th minute. — Our Sports Reporter

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