The Hindu : Sport / Football : SBT beats Fransa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 22, 2005

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Sport - Football

SBT beats Fransa

Principal Correspondent

KOZHIKODE: The final day of the ONGC NFL may have produced some of the most remarkable football in India's domestic competition for quite some time, on the grounds of Goa and Kolkata, but at the Corporation Stadium here on Saturday, the smallest crowd of the season witnessed one of the dullest matches. The host, SBT, won the game 2-0, against a depleted Fransa, Goa, but Vasco's stunning victory against East Bengal in Kolkata dashed its hopes of finishing 10th. T. Asif Saheer (27th minute) and Abdul Hakkim (50th) were the scorers.

SBT, one of the four teams relegated to the second division, ended 11th among the 12 teams in India's premier league with 18 points, while Fransa finished fifth with 30.

The bankmen didn't take long to take control against the visiting side, which was handicapped by the absence of six key players, including their foreign recruits. The Goans could hardly put up a fight.

The bankmen threatened to score from the beginning, as their reliable playmaker K.M. Abdul Noushad yet again fed Saheer, Hakkim and Rafi at regular intervals. After missing a few chances, they drew the first blood when Asif got his foot at the right time and right place inside the box when A.B. Kabeer attempted a long-ranger, following a flag-kick taken by Noushad.

The second goal though was much better, and the credit for it should go to Rafi, SBT's leading scorer in the NFL with five goals. His brilliant run from the centre proved too quick for the Goans, as he beat two defenders before giving a perfect square pass to Hakkim, who made no mistake from close in. That goal sealed the fate of the Goans whose few attempts to score were thwarted by the fast-improving SBT custodian Jean Christian, who was named Man of the Match for bringing off some splendid saves.

The visiting side was reduced to 10 men in the closing stages of the match as Alex Colaco, who had come in for Sanjeev Maria in the second half, was sent off for a violent contact against Asif.

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