The Hindu : Sport / Football : Bhutia nets winner

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 13, 2005

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Sport - Football

Bhutia nets winner

By Our Sports Reporter

KOLKATA, FEB. 12. Defending champion Kingfisher East Bengal rode on an opportunistic second session goal by Baichung Bhutia to beat Salgaocar 1-0 in a seventh round match of the IXth National Football League at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.

The win helped the holder extend its winning sequence to five consecutive matches while consolidating its hold at the top of the table with 17 points from five outings. On the other hand the Goa club — the only NFL champion from that State — compounded its misery netting just seven points from as many outings. The host's performance was mediocre today. Despite spending money on refurbishing its striking prowess it was left to one brief moment of brilliance by Bhutia when he netted the ball with a bicycle kick in the 80th minute.

While both teams got an even number of chances, Salgaocar had reasons to complain against the referee, Deepak Dey of Assam. The supervision was lax as the referee allowed players of both sides escape with major offences. The visitor was denied two clear penalties on infringements by the East Bengal defenders inside their own box.

The first session remained goalless as the host failed to do much in the striking zone despite having a greater say in the midfield. The closest it came to scoring was in the 22nd minute when substitute Climax Lawrence got a chance inside the Salgaocar box but managed only to send the ball over the crosspiece in his haste.

Salgaocar too had the opportunity on a counter offensive but Samson Singh's overhead volley in the 13th minute was saved by the custodian Rajat Ghosh Dastidar.

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