The Hindu : Sport / Football : Dinamo stuns Army XI

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Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007
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Dinamo stuns Army XI

Principal Correspondent

KANNUR: A 10-men Dinamo FC stunned Army XI 1-0 in a Group `B' match of the E.K. Nayanar memorial Gold Cup international football tournament at the Municipal Jawahar Stadium here on Tuesday.

Substitute Rufi Oluwaseyi Nurein scored the all-important goal in the 83rd minute to clinch the first win for the Nigerians, who had received a lot of flak for the spineless show in their first match.

Army XI finished its engagements in the tournament with three points and its entry into the semifinal will depend on the rest of the Group `B' matches. The Nigerians with this win kept their hope alive in the competition.

It was an improved show by the Nigerians as they showed pluck and determination after being reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when Eke Kalu Edwin was sent off for fouling Ngernilal.

Incredibly, the Nigerians attacked after the incident. Their aggression caught the army men by surprise and the sustained pressure finally culminated in the winning goal.

Ibrebru Felix raced down the right flank and squared the ball to Nurein who shrugged off his marker and beat the goalkeeper with a right footer.

The Nigerians kept the dangerous Ngernilal on a tight leash and managed to smother the army attacks. The Nigerians played within their limitations and sacrificed flair for safety. But Dinamo FC looked dangerous on counter-attacks. Its best chance came in the 30th minute when Rufai Kayode blasted out from close after being put in position by Ibrebru Felix.

The Nigerians were subdued at the start of the second half. M.G. Ramachandran scored for Army men in the 60th minute but the goal was disallowed as both Ramachandran and Ngernilal were off-side.

The Nigerians after being reduced to 10 men wisely thought attack was the best form of defence and launched an all-out attack at the army goal.

Ibrebru Fleix did the spadework for the winning goal as he broke down the right flank and his centre found Rufai Nurein who slotted home.

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