The Hindu : Sport / Football : Smiles back in SBT camp

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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
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Smiles back in SBT camp

Principal Correspondent

KOZHIKODE: Finally, there were smiles in the SBT camp.

At the fag end of a disastrous season, in which they failed even to qualify for the final phase of the NFL second division, the bank men won something memorable — the Western Union State football league. They did that in some style too, crushing Central Excise 4-1 in a final in front of a goodly crowd at the Corporation Stadium on Tuesday.

The Excise men, who had knocked out the defending champion Viva Kerala in the semifinals, lost yet again to the Thiruvananthauram team. The bank men had won 3-0 when the two sides met in the league stage a few days ago.

The Kochi team did come up with a better show than that, but SBT lifted it's game when it mattered — despite losing in-form striker A.G. Abdul Aslam to injury early on in the game — to regain the title.

It was two corner-kicks taken by K.M. Abdul Noushad, from either flank, within a space of two minutes that decided the match. The scores were level 1-1 at that time, with just 25 minutes left for the final whistle.

The first kick was headed home in the 65th minute by M. Abdul Basheer, who came charging in to the box, unnoticed by the Excise defenders. Two minutes later, M.A. Faizal Rahman, coming in for Aslam, made it 3-1 for SBT with his header. Then, in the 80th minute, his elder brother M.A. Abdul Hakkim completed the rout.

SBT had opened the scoring in the 14th minute, through an excellent 25-yarder by Martin John, who received a short pass from Abhilash John. The two teams were separated by that goal at the interval.

In the 59th minute, Excise equalised, as V.T. Suresh Babu, from close in, volleyed home a fine cross from the right wing by Bijesh Ben.

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