The Hindu : Sport / Football : Madras Sporting, Indian Bank in drawn match

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

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Sport - Football

Madras Sporting, Indian Bank in drawn match

CHENNAI, JUNE 9. It was an inspiring start for private club Madras Sporting Union as it played out a 1-1 draw with Indian Bank in a CFA senior division super-league match at the Nehru stadium on Wednesday.

In fact, till the half hour of second session Sporting led, courtesy a fifth minute goal by new Ghana recruit Samuel Jackson. The way Sporting dominated the exchanges, the end result did not seem likely to change. In fact, it could have been a handsome margin if those gilt-edged opportunities not gone waste. Johny at least can blame the goalpost for his miss of what could have been the goal of the season; a veritable solo from his own half when he got past a host of rival players but missed the target. But Jackson had no one but himself to blame for ballooning the ball over the bar with an open goal in front.

However, it must be said that Indian Bank is going through a transition phase. Having lost nearly half a dozen players in the recent transfers, the side did not present a settled look with new recruits, which included Nigerian Mike Chinedu Obi in the role of a striker. That he repeatedly fumbled added to his team's woes. But some of the Bank's new players, in particular Andrew Louis and Gregory Louis looked promising, while C.K. Harish, no stranger to the Bank side, is bound to do well in his new role as an attacking medio.

Bank's display was haphazard, as it were with only flashes of grit reflected in experienced Syed Sabir Pasha's show. But Pasha missed an able foil, thanks to Obi's indifferent form. That with all this, the Bank could find an equaliser underlined the tenacity of this bunch, the only side to represent the state in the National league. The goal came when substitute Noah Rozario slammed in a rebound in the 86th minute.

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