The Hindu : Sport / Football : FC Nania beats SBT

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Monday, Apr 09, 2007
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FC Nania beats SBT

M.R. Praveen Chandran

Kannur: FC Nania, Ghana defeated State Bank of Travancore 1-0 in the opening match of the E.K. Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup international football tournament at the Municipal Jawahar stadium here on Sunday.

Ebenezer Natary headed in the goal in the 35th minute. But contrary to the scoreline, it was a match in which Kerala side was hopelessly outplayed in all aspects of the game. It is a disgrace that SBT, which effectively is the Kerala Santosh Trophy team, couldn't make even one move to test the Ghanaian goalkeeper. The only chance the Thiruvananthapuram side got was really a gift from the over-confident Ghana defender who failed to clear a long ball. But Hakkim, who latched on to the loose ball, could only watch in disbelief as his shot hit the post and went out.

That probably was the only mistake, which the Ghanaians made in the entire match. In terms of skill, speed and stamina, the Ghana players were streets ahead of their rivals.

The early indications of a mismatch came in the very first minute when Charles Boating curled a free-kick over the SBT bar. Playing with short passes, the Ghana players, who had a couple of junior World Cup stars in their ranks, took control of the proceedings. SBT was forced to abandon its normal game and defend.

A 10-minute delay due to power failure midway through the first half gave some respite to the harried SBT defenders. But Nania came out firing on all cylinders after the break. Kofi Rahim Ayew, who is the son of the famed African footballer Abede Pele, was a bundle of energy in the midfield. With his speed and amazing ball, Rahim was a constant menace on the right wing. Charles Boating on the left wing sprayed defence-splitting passes to his forwards.

The SBT goal survived with some luck and goalkeeper's Jean Sebastian's anticipation. But Jean was stunned by a powerful header from Natary when Booting floated in a foul kick from near the box.

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