The Hindu : Sport / Football : Air-India, SBT post wins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004

Sport

Sport - Football

Air-India, SBT post wins

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 1. Ambedkar Stadium returned to normal on Monday — empty stands, insipid football and indifferent host. It hardly mattered to anyone that it was the start of Durand Cup, the second oldest tournament in the world. Red carpet was laid out, and promptly packed off, once the Army officers departed.

On the field, however, there were no pretensions. Air-India, Mumbai, tamed Border Security Force (BSF) 2-1 and State Bank of Travancore (SBT), comprising nine members from the Kerala team that won the Santosh Trophy at the same venue less than 24 hours ago, defeated Assam Rifle 3-1.

After the intoxicating stuff, one was so fortunate to witness on Sunday when an overwhelming spectator response made it a day to remember, the two matches today were a cruel reminder of the fact that teams like BSF and Air-India are poor advertisement for the game. In fact, Air-India earned a spot in Group `A' only because Mahindra United opted out.

But one's heart went out to those gritty players from SBT as they fought fatigue to overcome Assam Rifle in a Group `C' encounter. These players have hardly had any rest, what with felicitations and celebrations on Kerala's victory lasting until morning. But they meant business this afternoon as Abdul Basheer, the pillar of strength in Kerala's defence, set an example, working as tirelessly to frustrate Assam Rifle in a match that was at best mediocre.

Mohammad Rafi scored twice in the first half, in cohesion with Mohammad Aslam and Paul Antony, and then the SBT worked on a hat-trick for this striker. It was unwise as the SBT players concentrated on creating scoring chances for Rafi. Midway through the second half Akum Ao scored with a header for Assam Rifle and suddenly SBT realised the urgency to increase the lead.

Rafi shines

This time Rafi took the onus to set up an opportunity with a brilliant dash on the right and his minus presented Anil Kumar with an unhurried look at the Assam rifle goal and he made no mistake by slipping the ball in and instantly acknowledging the wonderful pass. This was the best moment of the day. The only quality act in two matches.

In the second match of the day, the first goal of the contest had been scored by the time the authorities, only after repeated requests, provided the team lists. In the tenth minute, J. Ouseph, from the top of the box, scored with a right footer to put BSF ahead. Given the overall standard of this match, Ouseph's was a standout effort. Air-India saved its reputation with two quick goals before the first session ended, thanks mainly to its Nigerian imports — Ibrahim Tijani and Peter Gyeisei. The equaliser for the Mumbai outfit came from Tijani when his right footer went in off a deflection from a scramble in the box. And then, at the stroke of halftime, the gangling Gyeisei made the most of a slack defence and booted the ball in, again catching the rival defence in a slumber. A couple of chances came Air-India's way but Noel Fernandes and Narendra Meetei failed to direct their shots. The best effort for BSF came from Gurjit Singh Atwal. His booming free kick was blocked by goalkeeper Raju Ekka and the rebound was sent soaring by Prasanto Das.

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