The Hindu : Sport / Football : Bengal clinches Dutta Roy Trophy

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Wednesday, Jun 22, 2005

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Sport - Football

Bengal clinches Dutta Roy Trophy

Sports Reporter

Tiruchi: Last year's runner-up, Bengal staved off a stiff challenge from host Tamil Nadu to lift the Dutta Roy Trophy in the 14th National under-21 (inter-zone) football championship here on Tuesday. In a pulsating final, the visitor tamed the host 5-4 via tie-breaker. This was Bengal's fifth title win.

Tamil Nadu, which had a dream run in the championship, almost came from the brink of defeat to equalise in dying seconds. But it still failed to hold its nerve in the tie-breaker.

The home side enjoyed the lion's share of exchanges in the first-half. Two minutes into the first session, Durairaj's corner kick sailed close to the goalmouth. However, Naresh, who was well positioned, headed it over. Nine minutes later, striker Muthuswamy collected a pass from captain Venkatesan and completed his run with a powerful right footer only to find Bengal custodian Subhasis Roy Choudhry bringing off a smart save.

The Bengal side found itself on the receiving end in the first-half. In the 31st minute, Venkatesan once again aimed at the goal, but it went awry.

The first 30 minutes saw Tamil Nadu gaining around half-a-dozen flag kicks. But custodian Subhasis withstood the pressure well to thwart them all.

Bengal strikes

The second-half saw the Tamil Nadu forwards march even stronger. Tamil Nadu's top goal-scorer, Muthuswamy, came under the defence scanner. However, the striker still managed to beat the defence for a threatening move or two. His fluency on the ground did create some danger for Bengal.

In the 40th minute, the home side defence, for once, was caught on the wrong foot.

Tarif Ahmed, who substituted for striker Suraj Mandal moved in time to a cross from Lalkamal Bhowmick and headed the ball home much to the disappointment of the huge gathering.

The equaliser

Having gained the advantage, the visitor frustrated Tamil Nadu players and the referee, at one stage, flashed the red card on S.K. Ajim for the tactics.

Tamil Nadu made good use of the situation and with only 30 seconds left for the final whistle scored the equaliser.

Venkatesan dribbled confidently from the right and drew a defender close to the touchline. Sensing the chance, the defence rushed in to cover only to see the striker passing it on to an unmarked substitute Mukesh, who gently tapped it home.

The match went into extra-time as teams locked 1-1 at the end of regulation time. But the scoreline remained the same. In the tie-breaker, Bengal custodian blocked the efforts of Suman Raj. Billa, his Tamil Nadu counterpart, also stopped Lalkamal's half-hearted shot. But Venkatesan, who took the final shot, floundered the chance, much to the disappointment of home fans.

The result: Final: Bengal 5 (Tarif Ahmed 2, Jaydip Bose 1, Tapan Maity 1, Rajith Ahmed 1) bt Tamil Nadu 4 (Mukesh 2, Durairaj 1, P. Muthuswamy 1) (Regulation time: 1-1)

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