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Alzino, Alaga star for Syria

Vijay Lokapally

— Photo: S. Subramanium

IN THE THICK OF ACTION: Syria’s Mohammad Alzino (right) scored once in his team’s 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in the Nehru Cup in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Syria will be the team to watch out for was the refrain on the eve of the Nehru Cup. On Thursday, it hardly looked the side that played some outstanding football at the same venue two years ago.

Kyrgyzstan, however, did not create enough pressure to bother Syria and the 2-0 result in the latter’s favour was on expected lines.

The pace was missing as Kyrgyzstan concentrated on packing the defence once it let in an early goal. Mohammad Alzino was the scorer in the ninth minute with a strong header and Syria then concentrated on conserving its energy for the stiffer contests ahead.

Red card for Roman

Kyrgyzstan midfielder Ablakimov Roman became the first player in the tournament to earn a red card when his dangerous tackle in the 67th minute, which sent Abdul Fatah Alaga crashing to the turf, earned him a strict punishment from referee Pratap Singh.

The game meandered from one end to the other even as the Syrian strikers, Alaga and Alzino, worked hard to increase the lead. Two minutes after he had been brought down, Alaga broke through to score in a flourish, dribbling past two defenders as well as the goalkeeper.

The Syrian defenders — Abdul Daim, Alaa Alshbli, Dyab Ali and Feras Ismail — showed excellent anticipation in cutting off the few attempts by Kyrgyzstan in the second session. Moutaz Kaildni proved an untiring player in the midfield.

For Syria, it was hardly an encounter that tested its potential, but there were moments when the team showed its ability to dominate.

Manju ruled out

Meanwhile, an injury to defender N.S. Manju has compounded India’s woes even as chief coach Bob Houghton’s remarks on the quality of the pitch at the Ambedkar Stadium created a flutter among the organisers.

The tall grass laid low India’s defence and the host was also dealt a crippling blow following the right ankle fracture that sent Manju out of the tournament. There is an injury cloud over stopper-back Anwar too.

Houghton could hardly have been faulted for demanding decent playing conditions as the reputation of the Nehru Cup was at stake.

Some members of the organising committee did not agree with Houghton. They felt that the home team management had not shown any concern as far as the grass was concerned on the eve of the match.

“In any case, the playing conditions were the same for both sides. We, too, want the team to do well and the ground alone can’t be the reason for the loss (to Lebanon),” said an official.

The Independence Day celebrations of the Delhi government had left the organisers just three days to repair the damage caused to the ground, and rain only delayed the process. Brown patches greeted the teams on Thursday too.

In the next match on Saturday, India meets Kyrgyzstan.

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