The Hindu : Sport : Raman Vijayan takes T.N. into last eight

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 30, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport

Raman Vijayan takes T.N. into last eight

Principal Correspondent

FARIDABAD: Raman Vijayan's extra-time goal nailed Delhi in its track as Tamil Nadu qualified for the quarterfinal league of the 61st National football championship for the Santosh Trophy here on Friday.

Vijayan struck an opportunistic goal in the 20th minute of extra-time after the two teams were locked goalless. A 1-0 win for Tamil Nadu at the Sector 12 Sports Complex here hardly tells the full time play's real story.

T.N had several chances of which four should have found the netting, but Delhi goalkeeper Vikrant Sharma stood firm.

"He (Vikrant Sharma) was excellent under the bar, but our boys should have ended the match in the regulation time itself," said the Tamil Nadu coach V. Soundarajan, clearly not happy with the day's proceedings.

Receiving end

If Sharma was Delhi's hero, Tamil Nadu skipper A. Jestus Antony was at the receiving end. Besides missing two chances on the field, Sharma brilliantly saved Antony's penalty in the 66th minute.

This was a big respite, but pathetic coordination between the midfield and the forwards cost Delhi dear. Worst, play along the flanks was non-existent as the players withdrew into defence to stop the ever-attacking Tamil Nadu frontline.

P. Muthu created several chances along the right flank, but his fellow strikers failed in finishing. In the 66th minute, Pushpender Kundu trapped K. Kulothungan from behind and the referee promptly pointed towards the spot before pulling out a yellow card for the Delhi defender.

Skipper Antony took the kick, but a lunging Sharma punched it away.

"Chetri was marked heavily, while their forwards kept our weak defence on toes," said the Delhi coach, Anadi Barua. "We lost to a better opponent, but I expected more from the team," he added.

If Antony missed chances, Kulothungan was unlucky. His solo run in the 70th minute was saved by a diving Sharma after the Tamil Nadu striker had paced nicely ahead of Delhi defenders, Kundu and Sanjay Kumar.

Mohon Raj decided to break free and move up in the 20th minute of the extra-time before he fed one to Kulothungan on the right. The striker spotted an unmarked Vijayan in the box and the rest was easy for the Mohammedan Sporting striker.

On the refereeing front, there were a few glitches, and the Goan Benjamin Silva once even wrongly pulled out the red card for Prashant Jaggi .

Karnataka posts win

In Gurgaon, Karnataka defeated Chhattisgarh 5-3 via tie-breaker after the teams were tied 1-1. Karnataka became the fourth team after Bengal, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, to make it to the quarterfinal league. The last year's semifinalists, champion Goa, runner-up Maharashtra and Punjab and Kerala are directly seeded into the quarterfinals.

Chhattisgarh took the lead through Ramchandra Murmu's 14th minute goal at the Gurgaon Sports Complex before Karnataka equalised in the first half's injury time. N.S. Manju found the net in the 47th minute.

In the tie-breaker, Xavier Vijay Kumar, B. Prakash, B. Raju and Kuttimani scored for Karnataka. For Chhattisgarh, Deepanshu Majumdar and P. Krishna Naidu were the scorers.

The Santosh Trophy will resume on October 14, after a 14-day gap, as the National squad will be busy preparing for the AFC Cup qualifier against Japan in Bangalore on October 11.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport