The Hindu : Sport / Football : UP tames Maharashtra, enters quarterfinals

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Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

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Sport - Football

UP tames Maharashtra, enters quarterfinals

By Vijay Lokapally & Kirti Patil

Karan Singh of Uttar Pradesh (right) tries to get past Vijith Shetty of Maharashtra. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

NEW DELHI, OCT. 20. Bimal Ghosh, the highly respected Maharashtra coach, unknowingly motivated the wrong team ahead of the crucial preliminary league match of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy here. On the eve of the match, the Uttar Pradesh assistant coach, Bhairav Dutt, watched Ghosh dismiss his side with a contemptuous remark on a local channel. "UP has no defence, no forward line. It's no threat."

Dutt summoned his players and made a "simple" demand. "You should not lose." The boys did not. In fact, it was Maharashtra which lost much against what the pundits predicted. "They were a better side. But we won," said the unassuming UP chief coach Bikram Dastidar. The 2-1 win put UP in the company of Services and Bengal in the quarterfinal league, which commences on Thursday.

Rawat's brace

The star of the competition on Wednesday was Prahlad Rawat, busy on the field but unemployed off it. He scored both the goals for UP, one in the air and the other along the ground, both spectacular efforts that lifted the image of a team which had overcome factionalism back home to assert its right to play. Rawat signified the essence of positional play as he created two gems on a day when Bengal, once again riding on the brilliance of Mehtab Hossain, too made the next stage with an authoritative 3-0 win over Andhra Pradesh.

UP's performance was exemplary. For a State that struggles to gain competition for its players, it was indeed remarkable to have tamed an opposition which was backed by many to go the distance.

Maharashtra may rue the two sitters that Abhishek Yadav wasted against his former State but there was no denying the fact that Rawat gave an impeccable finish to the tactics drawn by the team management.

Counter attack was UP's key. And Rawat remembered to give his best when he found himself at the centre of the attack.

On the first occasion, he rose to connect the cross from Dinesh Dhondiyal, the header gave the goalkeeper Raju Ekka no chance.

The game livened up following Rawat's sensational act. Maharashtra increased the pace and Alex Ambrose set up a dream ball for Abhishek, who failed to trap it in front of the goal. Soon, Abhishek broke through, side stepped the goalkeeper Naseem Akhtar but incredibly shot over the bar. Rawat's second goal was a breathtaking placement, as deft as one can imagine, leaving the defence and the goalkeeper bewildered. In the second half, Khalid Jamil scored from a penalty but UP, down to ten men in the last 15 minutes when Roopesh Singh earned two yellow cards, defended strongly to hang on to the slender lead.

The Maharashtra coach lamented the poor form of midfielder Appa Rao and the two misses by Abhishek and gave credit to the UP defence comprising Ajay, Kumar Roopesh, Shakir Ali and Jagdamba.

"They cut off our aerial attacks," pointed out Ghosh. UP prospered from its positive play. "We never played for a draw even though it suited us," said Dastidar, who praised Rawat for his two "great goals." There was mention also for midfielders Jatin Singh Bisht, Shamsi Raza and Dhondiyal.

Tough for TN

At the Chhatrasal Stadium, Tamil Nadu put up an inconsistent show by missing sitters early on as Jammu and Kashmir proved a tough customer.

Stopper-back T. Edwin Raj received two cautions before he was sent off the field in the 36th minute. Tamil Nadu managed a draw but will miss Raj in the quarterfinal against Goa on Friday.

As the Jammu and Kashmir defence withstood the Tamil Nadu attacks, the match became rough with players from both sides showing misplaced aggression. J&K's Rizwan Sheikh picked up the first yellow card in the 23rd minute before Raj fouled in the 32nd minute.

A charged up Raj made yet another attempt four minutes later and got the marching orders.

Besides missing Raj, TN will have to start without its other specialist stopper back, D. C. Joseph Noel, who also received his second yellow card of the tournament in the 67th minute.

Despite playing with 10 men, Tamil Nadu showed good temperament. Striker F. Jegan produced a fine goal when he surged from the left and struck a powerful hit from top of the box.

The 57th minute goal gave TN some breather. But J&K equalised from a free kick when Rizwan Sheikh collected the pass inside the box and scored.

Bengal dominated its encounter against Andhra Pradesh with Rahim Nabi and Mehtab Hossain proving a lethal combination. In the first minute, Nabi scored from a through pass. He was on target again when Mehtab sent a cross and Nabi connected on the turn. In the second session, Mehtab swelled the scoreline by scoring from a free kick.

Happy ending

It was a "happy" end for the Bengal camp, which had earlier earned the displeasure of Match Commissioner S. R. Deb. Bengal refused to occupy the bench marked for them and stuck to the one allotted for the match against Mizoram. Mr. Deb failed in his efforts to move Bengal to the bench marked for this match. Bengal could also face trouble in getting Debjit Ghosh and Kalyan Choubey registered. "Too late" is the official reaction to these two players being registered at this stage.

In an insignificant match, Orissa beat Pondicherry 4-2. Gyanaranjan (2), Laxman and Saroj Das scored for Orissa and Karunanidhi and Gobi for Pondicherry.

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