The Hindu : Sport / Football : Ibrebru stars in Salgaocar's win

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Friday, Apr 15, 2005

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Ibrebru stars in Salgaocar's win

Sports Reporter

KOLKATA: DTDC Tollygunge Agragami found its relegation fears deepening as it succumbed to the third successive defeat at home on Thursday, losing to Salgaocar SC 1-2 in a 17th round encounter of the IX National Football League here on Thursday at the Salt Lake Stadium.

A late penalty helped Salgaocar clinch the issue, as the two teams were locked 1-1 till the 76th minute. The visitor was aided by the striking ability of Felix Ibrebru, who scored both the goals to give the team the full quota of points and cement its position in the middle rung of the 12-team league table. This was the sixth win for the Goa team, which collected 22 points from the 17 outings.

On the other hand Agragami went pointless for the third consecutive match — having lost 0-1 to East Bengal and 2-4 against Churchill Brothers in the earlier rounds at the same venue — to remain at 15 points after playing 17 matches. Nigerian Akeem Abul Alem fetched the equalizer for the host in the 70th minute.

Listless exchange

The first session saw a listless exchange as both the teams struggled to find the right shot at the target. While Agragami opted to stick to its overly defensive stance, Salgaocar was more probing in comparison. The visitor earned three good chances in the first half but Felix twice and midfielder Bhuvan Joshi spurned the chances from close.

The visitor showed better coordination following the change of ends and this helped Salgaocar force the lead in the 59th minute. Felix, making a sharp sprint into the Agragami box, followed up a measured cross by midfielder Jerose Oliviera and slotted home the ball before the opponents could react. The goal prodded the host out of its defensive shell and the city outfit came out with a series of attacks, one of which fetched the equaliser in the 70th minute.

The leveller came off the boot of Agragami forward Akeem, who successfully tried out a pile-driver off a Chinmoy Sarkar provision from the midfield. Host's joy was shortlived as Salgaocar jumped back into the lead six minutes later. The winner resulted from a 76th minute incident when Services referee, A. Arjunan, awarded a penalty to the visitor upholding an infringement against the Salgaocar striker Felix, who later scored from the spot. The home players protested the penalty and were later joined in by their coach, Biswajit Das, who alleged that his team fell victim to the referee's favouritism.

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