WB, Assam, Haryana, Chandigarh win
l Goa take on Bihar in U- 21 today
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARGAO, APRIL 30
West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi,
Kerala, registered fluent victories in the 18th
Under-21 National Football Championship for
Dutta Ray Trophy here on Thursday.
At Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Chandigarh came from
behind to defeat Gujarat 4-2 in a Cluster VI
match. Chandigarh were trailing 1-2 at half
time.
Chandigarh were reduced to 10 men when Sudhir
Siani was penalized for unfair charge by the
referee who had no hesitation in
flashing the red card.
Chandigarh went into the lead in the 19th
minute through a penalty when Ravi B.Vasava
handled the ball inside the box and Nikhil
Prashar converted the resultant spot kick.
Stunned by the early goal, Gujarat regrouped
quickly and took the fight to the rival camp with
well orchestrated raids. Two minutes later,
Ankit Ganesh unleashed a left footer which gave
no chance to Chandigarh goalkeeper Harbir Singh.
Spurred by the equalizer, Gujarat unleashed a
couple of forays into the rival territory when
Gopal fired a left footer which crashed into the
net keeping the Chandigarh goalkeeper dazed.
Chandigarh put up better performance in the
second half when striker Prateek Joshi put his
team on level terms in the 74th minute with a
carpet drive. Once again, Prateek Joahi was in
the thick of action as he timed his shot to
perfection and beat the Gujarat goalkeeper in the
86th minute. Earlier, Navdeep Singh made it 3-2
with a deft placement.
Chandigarh suffered a jolt in the 54th minute
when referee removed Sudhir Saini for second
punishable offence.
At Raia panchayat ground, West Bengal walloped
Jammu and Kashmir 9-1. The highlight of the day
was a four-goal blitz by striker Anjan Dey.
Dipankar Das struck twice, Avinaba Bag,
Sukurnddin Laskhar and Mithun Saha added
miseries to Jammu and Kashmir team while Altaf
Ahmad managed to reduce the margin for Jammu and
Kashmir at the fag end of a Cluster VIII match.
In a Cluster II tie at Corps of Signals ground,
Navelim, Haryana shocked last year runners-up
Tamil Nadu 3-0. Haryana constantly raided the
rival citadel and were unlucky not to take the
lead in the opening session due to inept shooting
by their forwards.
Haryana surged ahead in the 77th minute when
Sonu slotted past the rival goalkeeper with a
firm grounder. Shyam Sunder doubled the lead in
the 81st minute. Vivek Singh Kaira drove the last
nail into Tamil Nadu coffin in the 85th minute.
Earlier in the morning at Nehru Stadium, in a
Cluster VI match, a fine hat-trick by Midhun
Wilwet helped Kerala thump Arunachal Pradesh
7-1 after both teams were tied 1-1 at half time .
Although Kerala held the upper hand, it was
Arunchal Pradesh who forged into the lead in
the 13th minute when Nagape Karlo beat the rival
goalkeeper hands down. Stung by the setback,
Kerala regrouped and instantly took the fight
to their rival camp when Midhun Wilwet
levelled the score in the 35th minute. He then
struck twice in the 68th and 70th minutes to
register his hat-trick. Swaaraj struck twice in
the 74th and 80th minutes, while Nerbin and
Sujith was the other scorer.
In a Cluster IV match, Assam defeated Madhya
Pradesh 2-0 at Curtorim ground. The winners led
1-0 at half time. Sarbanand and Apurba Phukan
were the goal scorers for Assam.
In the last match of the day in Cluster IV, at
Curtorim ground, Delhi downed Chattisgarh 2-0.
Kushal Chettri and Ankit Srivastava were the
goal getters .
