The Hindu : Sport : JCT and East Bengal advance to the quarterfinals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport

JCT and East Bengal advance to the quarterfinals

Vijay Lokapally

Brazilian flair on show on the opening day

JCT’s Escobar, East Bengal’s Marques shine
Veteran defender Robert Fernandes had a harrowing time for Vasco

LUDHIANA: Brazilian flair was on show at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium here on Tuesday. Eduardo Escobar for JCT and Edmilson Marques for East Bengal.

JCT, propelled by Escobar’s calculated play upfront, took the honours with a 3-1 win over Vasco (Goa) on a day when Kolkata rivals, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting were locked in a tactical contest.

East Bengal also won 3-1 to mark the opening day’s pre-quarterfinal actions in the 29th Federation Cup football tournament.

JCT triumphed in testing humid conditions in the evening while East Bengal eliminated Sporting under lights in a match that failed to live up to the expectations.

For the spectators, the entertainment had been served earlier by JCT, and Escobar in particular.

Sheer delight

Escobar was sheer delight. Such wonderful control, he could square the ball, he could push it through with precision, make it dance at his feet.

The defence was left in a trance as Escobar wove an intricate pattern with his command over the ball.

He was diminutive, yet towering in his status upfront.

JCT had little to worry once its Brazilian battery worked in tandem.

Escobar struck a flawless understanding with Marcos Perriera and they played havoc with the Vasco defence.

Escobar was omnipresent and no degree of marking could shackle his regal movements.

He worked well with Sunil Chhetri and Vasco was reduced to chasing shadows for most part of the contest.

Renedy Singh, Perriera, Shivraj Singh and Baljit Sahni kept the pressure on Vasco by relentlessly reaching Escobar and Chhetri with canny passes. Veteran defender Robert Fernandes had a harrowing time and lack of support from the rest left gaping gaps, which JCT was too happy to exploit.

One-man show

The first half was Escobar and nothing else. He rattled the Vasco camp with a curling free kick, that swung around the wall and past the diving Juze Siddhi, the ball grazed his fingers, hit the right post and bounced into the far corner. It was a beauty. The game was just five minutes old.

The next half hour Vasco was kept busy by the mercurial Escobar. A booming long ranger from Escobar was blocked by Siddhi.

A free kick again pitted Escobar against the wall and he once again curled it past the hapless Vasco defence but the goalkeeper this time just about got his fingers to win a deflection. For a change, Escobar now tested Siddhi with a header.

This was fast turning out to be an Escobar versus Vasco affair. As if to mark his presence, Chhetri, from the top of the box, beat the defence and the goalkeeper but not the post.

The teams now played for the half time, slowing down the pace, but Escober, a master at conserving his energy for the right moment, broke through, took two defenders with him, and backpassed for an agile and unmarked Perriera to flick it in deftly over the bemused Siddhi.

The second half fell in comparison. Vasco reduced the margin in the 68th minute when the hard-working Mathew Odje made the most of a loose ball inside the box after his colleague Joy Ferrao ran into two defenders.

Self goal

But seven minutes later the Goan side dealt a self blow when Fernandes’ desperate clearance nestled nicely in the Vasco goal.

When Queterio Pango was red carded for hitting Baldeep Singh (Sr.) in the groin Vasco had closed its comeback route.

In contrast, the Kolkata sides failed to entertain. East Bengal shot into lead in the 22nd minute when Ashim Biswas headed in strongly to finish a lob by Rahim Nabi but Sporting equalised at the stroke of half time when K. Kulathangan slotted in a rebound after Paul Nwachukwa gained from a lapse by Surkumar Singh.

In the second session, Marques’s diving header off a Biswas floater in the 52nd minute capped a fine match for the Brazilian, who scored again in the 67th minute to eliminate a fighting Sporting.

Wednesday’s matches: Army XI vs. Sporting Clube de Goa (4 p.m.); Mahindra United vs. HAL (7 p.m.).