The Hindu : Sport / Football : Fransa holds Sporting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 20, 2006

Sport

Sport - Football

Fransa holds Sporting

KOLKATA: Fransa Pax held local favourite Mohammedan Sporting to a goalless draw in a ninth round tie of the 10th National Football League at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.

The draw came as a relief for Sporting, which was coming off a three-match losing streak. It now has 10 points from nine matches. Fransa continues to remain at the basement, collecting just four points from eight matches. The team from Goa is yet to win a match.

The drawn result underlined a cautious approach adopted by both sides. Despite playing at home, Sporting lacked cohesiveness. Its midfield looked tired and the attack lacked direction.

The host earned a few chances but none of them resulted in a goal owing mainly to the ineffectiveness of strikers Gley Rodrigo and Okonji Patrick. Rodrigo came closest to scoring in the first half but misdirected his attempts on two occasions.

Facile win for Bagan

Mohun Bagan's campaign in the NFL took a positive turn with goals from Dharamjit Singh and Kofi Agbssi in each half forcing a 2-0 victory over home team Air-India at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Sunday.

Dharamjit pounced on a mistake by Air-India custodian Sunder Rajan and slotted home from close range in the seventh minute. Agbssi scored a superb solo goal to ensure Bagan's victory.

The win took the Kolkata side's tally to 11 from nine matches. A-I has seven from seven games.

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