The Hindu : Sport / Football : Kerala made to sweat it out

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 29, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Kerala made to sweat it out

Rayan Rozario

Chhattisgarh puts up a good fight, but…

— Photo: M. Periasamy

HEMMED IN: Kerala captain N.P. Pradeep fights his way past Chhattisgarh’s Kumarkant Reddy (left) and Prabhat Kumar in the National football championship at the Nehru Stadium.

Coimbatore: Kerala had to sweat it out to register a 3-0 win over a never-say-die Chhattisgarh in a crucial Cluster I league encounter and entered the pre-quarterfinal of the 63rd National football championship for the Santosh Trophy here on Thursday.

The odds were stacked heavily in favour of the five-time champion as it boasted of an experienced line-up and considerable professionalism. But strikers Wasim Raja and Kulwant Singh ensured that Chhattisgarh would not lack self belief.

Simple strategy

The duo’s strategy was undisguised — obtain an early goal and then defend the advantage in an organised, calculated and clinical manner. They worked hard upfront and latched on to every opportunity that came their way. And, Kerala was seen desperately defending out of necessity, not out of choice.

It took some time for it to tighten its defence. And once it did there was no looking back. Its forwards tore into the attack from all angles and even managed to obtain a goal, which came off a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area, in the 26th minute. It was a cleverly planned strike by skipper N.P. Pradeep and Chhattisgarh’s defence succumbed to the pressure.

Chhattisgarh was given no time to adjust its sights as chances appeared and disappeared in a flash. Kerala enjoyed the luxury of being 2-0 up two minutes from the lemon break when Chhattisgarh’s skipper Ramachandra Murmu brought down Bineesh T. Balan from behind, and inside the danger area. The referee was quick to point to the spot but Sushanth Mathew’s hard hitting shot was smartly stopped by Gurpreet Singh, the Chhattisgarh custodian.

Kerala played a much better second half. Sakeer and Zubair, joined by the midfield, made merry on the flanks. And, the fans roared in joy.

Vain attempt

Chhattisgarh went flat out for the equaliser but there was no escape, as the in-form Zubair increased the margin with a beauty of a header off a Sakeer cross in the 69th minute.

Eight minutes from the whistle, Sushanth compensated for his costly penalty miss with a thundering right footer from 30 yards out. It shook the last line of defence and the confidence of the Chhattisgarh men so much that they never recovered.

“We played pretty loose at the start but we picked up momentum midway through,” said the Kerala skipper after the match.

The results: Kerala 3 (N.P. Pradeep 26, K.P. Zubair 69, Sushanth Mathew 77) bt Chhattisgarh 0.

Friday’s match: Maharashtra vs. Meghalaya, 4 p.m.

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

Sport