The Hindu : Sport : Army XI marches on Lama's lob

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Monday, Mar 06, 2006

Sport

Sport

Army XI marches on Lama's lob

Sports Reporter

Bangalore: Durrand Cup champion Army XI, had just one chance and it was duly converted with Samuel brilliantly heading in a Hemant Lama lob in the 44th minute. It was enough for Army XI to seal the match and register a 1-0 victory against local favourites Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in a Second Division National Football League Group B match at the Football Stadium here on Sunday.

Meanwhile HAL had a plethora of chances, right from the second minute when Kuttymani chipped wide a Kenneth Onu nudge.

However the aircraftmen, especially the forwardline developed cold feet near the goal-line and with Onu, continuing to remain below par, gilt edged chances were frittered away with alarming frequency and that proved to be the decisive factor in a match that could have well gone the other way.

Army XI survived a barrage of HAL sorties and can now rest easy with seven points after its second victory from three matches, the other result being a draw. Army XI is now assured of qualifying into the final phase of the qualifiers, which will also feature top three teams from the Group A league that is in progress at Jamshedpur.

Meanwhile HAL has three points from two matches with Sunday's loss robbing the sheen of its earlier victory against Indian Bank.

Stinging attacks

The HAL attacks, that often lost sting in goalmouth melees, were often a story of delayed and miscued passes besides the attacker messing up the final thrust. In the early minutes, a Kuttymani-Xavier combined run failed to create space. Later when Army XI's Irudayaraj failed to clear a loose ball, Onu latched on to the chance before tamely striking it straight to custodian Robikanta Singh.

Again Onu, positioned near the goalmouth, sent his header wide. And as the first half ebbed away, Army XI's Hemant Lama struck wide. Lama however made immediate amends with his deft chip and lob that found a diagonally positioned Samuel, who leapt and with a deft flick of his head beat HAL goalkeeper Gumpe Rime.

The goal proved to be a clincher as in the second half, HAL, despite having extended possession of the ball, baulked with botched attempts as Xavier, Satish and Nanda Kumar failed to convert their chances.

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