4th Inter District Football Tournament: BDFA defeat Dakshin Kannada district

In the final stage of the 4th Inter District Football Tournament played at the Nehru Stadium, Shimoga, BDFA defeated Dakshin Kannada district 2-0. Wheelman Vinod Kumar V and Gopi scored a goal each in the 2nd half. BDFA will play their next match against Kodagu district on Wednesday, June 2.

4th Inter District Football Tournament: BDFA beat up Davangere

BDFA beat Davangere convincingly 3-0 in their first match of the 4th Inter District Football Tournament played at Nehru Stadium, Shimoga. Aircraftsman Vinod Kumar scored a brace in 9th and 40th minute while his namesake V Vinod hit the 3rd goal in the 58th minute.

BDFA plays their next match against Dakshin Kannada district tomorrow, Monday, May 31, 4.30 pm. The matches were played in a knock-out format till the quarter-finals. The top four qualified team plays in a round-robin format, and the top team wins the tournament. The 2 other teams are host, Simoga and Kodagu district.

BDFA IX team for 4th Inter District Football Tournament

Consisting a mix of young and senior players, BDFA IX left for the 4th Inter District Football Tournament to be played at the Nehru Stadium, Shimoga. This tournament gives an exposure and encouragements to the budding players of Bangalore. BDFA won all the previous editions of this tournament.

BDFA IX gets a first-round bye and will play against the winner of Davangere and Belgaum district in the quarter-final, tomorrow, Sunfay, May 11, 4 pm.

Team: Nikhil Bernard (HAL), Hariharan (ISRO), Vinod Kumar (HAL), Chethan Kumar (HAL), B.Ramesh (BEML), S.Kiran Kumar (BG BLUES), Aiyappa.K.P (SAI), Karhigeyan (HAL), Moahan (BEL), Arokia Raj Kenneth (SAI), H.Subba (CIL), Arun Pondey (POSTAL), Vinoth Kumar V (RWF), Praveen J (Dharmaraja Union), V Vinod (Bangalore Independent), Lokesh.C (VFC), Leo Lawrence (young Muslims), K Gopi (HAL)
 
Coach: J Chandrashekar (Postal)
 
Manager: T.M.G.Naidu (BDFA)

46th Moulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: ASC enters final

ASC, Bangalore entered the final from pool B of the 46th Moulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy played at Kayalpatnam, Thoothukkudi district, Tamil Nadu.

Playing against Dynamic Club, Maharashtra, ASC won 5-3. The match was held 1-1 at the regulation time. In the tie breaker, the Bangalore managed to score 4 goals against Dynamic Club’s 2.

In the final, ASC plays against the winner of the other semi finalists, Chennai Customs and Thoothukkudi Dist. XI to be played today.

HAL move on to I-League division 1

Great news for the football lovers of the garden city! Next year’s football season will not be a dull and boring affair. The aircraftsmen make the cut, move on to the elite division, and bring Bangalore once again in the Indian football map.

Right from the beginning of the final phase, HAL was on the right track. It was coming alright; however, they have to wait till the last match and some anxious moments to make it happen.

Elated HAL coach, Muralidharan, finally thanked his players for bringing HAL to the top division of I-league. It was a dream he saw when he took the charge of this team some 2 seasons back.

HAL only needed a draw to make the cut. The game started in a very similar fashion, playing from left to right HAL tried to keep the possession of the ball. They were tad cautious; failed to make any positive attack in the first 30 minute. Xavier, who had an off-day today, messed-up in few occasions!

Sesa wards took the advantage of a complacent HAL defense - striker Israil Gurung passed a good cross for Selwyn Fernandes, the later was left unmarked, and scored the goal from a header.

Perhaps this jolt was needed for HAL to come back into the game. They looked little frustrated on their campaign - making some silly challenges and getting booked by the official.

When everyone thought that HAL would leave the pitch with a one-goal deficit in the lemon break, it was again Satish Kumar jr brought the aircraftsmen into the game.

The much awaited equalizer came from a nice move initiated by medio Jotin Singh – Jotin puts the ball for Xavier on the right flank, he receives and puts for Satish Kumar jr in the middle, Satish plays and quick one-one with Murali, and finally sends an accurate curling left-footed shot into the top-right corner of the net from out side the penalty box.

Making a comeback in the I-League division 1, HAL expects to make a competent team. Coach Muralidharan, has eyed on few promising players from Vasco and Malabar United. HAL sports secretary JoPaul Rajan assured about conforming to the AFC guidelines as per schedule. About retaining HAL talents from migrating to other top Indian clubs, Rajan said, “Being a public sector enterprise, we’ve certain limitation on shelling out big amount. We’ll try to get them into HAL roll for a secured life”.
 

I-league division 2 truly has been a flavor for the public sector teams. Other day ONGC qualified for the first time in I-league division 1 and now HAL re-enters in the big league. Ditto otherwise for the teams like Mohammedan Sporting and Vasco. The once regular in the I-league top division, these teams performed below par, and will fight from the qualifying stages in the next edition.


Vasco split points with Sporting

A disappointed Vasco, who already knew their fate before taking the field for the final match, played a 1-1 draw against hapless Vasco Mohammedan Sporting. Joel Sequeira gave Vasco the lead in the first-half. Later Sporting captain, Jothi Kumar drew-level in the 67th minute.


Result:

• HAL 1 (Sathish Kumar jr-44') Sesa 1 (Selwyn-29')
• Vasco 1 (Joel-35') Md. Sp. 1 (Jothi Kumar-67')

Next Match - May 25 (Round 7):

• Oil India versus Malabar United, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus ONGC, 4 pm

ONGC seal first division spot

Playing like a true champ, ONGC defeated Sesa Football Academy, Goa convincingly and booked their berth for the coveted I-League division 1. Early strike by the strikers Babatunde and Tarif Ahmed made the difference and the rookies from Sesa never got a chance to get back to the game.

ONGC clinched the license to play for the I-league

division 1 next season with absolute dominance. Their endeavor in the final leg has been a revelation. They have played like a champion, wining all but one match so far, and already achieved what they wanted before playing their last round match.

The oilmen took the field to make early inroads. They got their first goal in the 5th minute thru Nigerian Badmus Babatunde. 13 minutes later it was time for Babatunde’s partner Tarif to score the second goal. Sitting pretty on a two-goal lead, ONGC played posessional, controlled the game and kept the Sesa wards at bay.

After coming very close to I-League division 1 in the last two seasons, the Mumbai outfit finally made it this time.


Pathetic display by Mohammedan

Mohammedan Sporting continued their dismal show by playing a 1-1 draw with Malabar United. Mohammedan took the field leaving behind their foreign imports that were unceremoniously released by the club management owing to pathetic performance in the final rounds of I-League division 2.

They started-off in a shaky note, Malabar quickly utilized the situation and took lead in the 8th minute of the match by a goal from Nigerian Loveday. Neelandra Deewan scored the equalizer in 56th minute.

Mohammedan should consider themselves lucky for not conceding any more goals. Malabar should have scored at least 4 more goals. They simply could not score goals, missed penalty, missed easiest of the easy sitters.

Result:

• Malabar Utd  (Loveday-8’) 1 Mohammedan Sporting (Neelandra-56’) 1
• ONGC (Babatunde-5' and Tarif-18’) 2 Sesa Football Academy 0

Next Match - May 24 (Round 7):

• HAL versus Sesa Football Academy, 2 pm
• Vasco versus Mohammedan Sporting, 4 pm

Brother duo strikes for HAL

HAL inched closer towards gaining a spot in next season’s I-League division 1. Today, playing against newbie NISA, Manipur at the Bangalore Football Stadium, they defeated 2-1. Brothers Karthigeyan and Satish Kumar jr scored for HAL and Thomas Singh scored the only goal for NISA. They now only need a draw to qualify for the I-League division 1.

HAL could not field their 2 foreigners, striker Fredrick and defender Femi was kept out of the match due to double booking. Fredrick’s absent meant Xavier coming in the forward position and Srikanth playing in deep-defense.

1st half failed to bring good game. With the field relatively heavy due to rains in last couple of days, HAL struggled to control the game. Defense looked feeble today with NISA penetrating several times.

After changing ends, HAL looked more organized. They made a skillful attack in the 1st minute. 3 minutes later, Karthigeyan’s powerful long ranger from a Jotin Singh pass went past the NISA keeper. HAL looked a much better team in this period.

Wily Xavier tore NISA’s defense in the 64th minute, however, keeper Premkumar Singh displayed good reflex and saved a sure goal. It was Xavier again, who missed the easiest chance of the day in the 73rd minute – alert Murali taps the ball from a defensive miss pass and gives it to Jotin on the left, Jotin on entering inside the penalty box passes to Xavier, the later dribbles one defender and finds the keeper, rather than placing to the far post, he takes an easy shot to the keeper.

This miss proved costly for HAL as the Manipuri team scored the equalizer in the next minute. NISA continued attacking after the equalizer, but caught repeatedly. Poor finishing prevented them from causing anymore damage to HAL.

In the 87th minute, Satish Kumar jr, who had a reasonably good tournament had an off-day as he displayed poor finishing and missed several scoring chances today. However, he did for his team when it matter the most. Coming from the right side, Satish dribbles few defenders, and takes a diagonal shot that goes beyond the reach of the keeper.

It was a big relief for the HAL supporters, who again turned in good numbers today.

Vasco still in contention

The Goan team amassed full points by bludgeoning Oil India 4-0. Striker Koko Sakibo scored the 2nd hat trick of the final round. With this win the Goan team stays in contention for qualifying in I-League division 1. They still need to win their final round match and hope that the top two teams HAL and ONGC waste points in their coming matches.

Result:

• HAL 2 (Karthigeyan-49' and Satish Kumar jr-87') NISA 1 (Thomas Singh-74')
• Vasco 4 (Koko Sakibo-30', 74', and 83' and Joel Sequiera-58') vs Oil India 0

Next Match - May 21(Round 6):

• Mohammedan Sporting Club versus Malabar United, 2 pm
• ONGC versus Sesa Football Academy, 4 pm

ONGC topples HAL

HAL got the first taste of defeat in the I-League division 2 final round by loosing to ONGC 2-1. All the goals were scored in the first half. ONGC took the lead in the 3rd minute of the game, HAL were quick to restore parity through Satish Kumar jr. ONGC netted another one in the 32nd minute and sealed the fate for HAL. In the 2nd match of the day, two bottom-ranked teams, Sesa and NISA played 1-1 draw.

It was a fight between the top teams. The spectators of the city team came in good numbers, they played drums to encourage the players throughout the match. However, HAL disappointed them by missing a penalty, missing easy chances, and displaying some aimless football in the second-half.

Nigerian striker Babatunde opened ONGC’s account in the 3rd minute - he receives a pass left to the left side of the box and intelligently places the ball to the far post, out of keepers reach.

HAL tried to hold the game in midfield, the equalizer came from a beautiful thru ball from Jotin Singh – Rajendra Prasad who was marching ahead from the right flank receives the ball and floats a center, Fredrick misses it, but Satish Kumar jr who was unmarked at the far post makes no mistake in putting the ball to the goal.

ONGC took the lead again, thanks to some shoddy work by the HAL defense - Jai Kumar fails to clear the ball cleanly, ONGC winger Naresh catches the ball, and takes an accurate long ranger.

HAL should have equalized in the early 2nd half – Nigerian striker Fredreick was brought down by an ONGC defender inside the box. Referee didn’t hesitate to declare a penalty. However, skipper Rajendra Prasad’s shot to the left side was easily saved by keeper Bilifang.

HAL was trying hard to get back into the game, but some good defending by ONGC did not make that happen. Sathish Kumar jr who earlier missed few chances was heavily marked and could not crack the ONGC defense.

The last 20 minutes were marred by some time-wasting tactics employed by ONGC and some aimless football by HAL.

ONGC remain the only team unbeaten so far and virtually booked their place in the 1st division. After loosing points today, HAL is in the 2nd spot with a point less from the leaders.

Result:

• ONGC 2 (Babatunde-3 and Naresh-32') beat HAL 1 (Satish Kumar jr)
• SESA 1 (Israil Gurung-66') - NISA 1 (Dewan Singh-81')

Next Match - May 20 (Round 6):

• HAL versus NISA, 2 pm
• Vasco Sports Club versus Oil India , 4 pm

Mohammedan waste points again, out of contention for division 1

The Kolkata powerhouse could not hold on to the 1st half one-goal lead and split points with Oil India. With this draw they are mostly out of race for qualifying next season’s I-league division 1. Vasco thrashed Malabar United 4-0 in the other match and kept their hunt alive for division 1.

Mohammedan took the field minus 2 regular players, Zoheb and Babin due to double booking. They meant business and started attacking from the beginning.

In 21st minute, Oil India GK somehow manages to avert defender Sanjay Parte’s long ranger for a corner. Satyajit Basu takes the corner, Amrit Pal Singh who was out of injury and playing his first match came from nowhere, and heads the ball to the goal.

10 minutes later from a nice thru from Theo, Edu speedily enters into the Oil India box from the right side and back-heels to Theo. The later over-ran him and fails to covert from a nice move.

Mohammedan medio, Satyajit Basu, who didn’t have a decent game today, committed a big mistake in the 33rd minute, he chest-traps to clear the ball from defense, an opponent player ball picks the ball from the open area just outside the box, and passes to foreign striker Waheed. Waheed shots the ball outside the crossbar.

Oil India kept attacking in the later part of 1st half, keeper Nassem Akhtar kept them at bay by with some splendid saves.

Mohammedan defense never looked settled and the oilmen took the advantage to score the equalizer in 70th minute from Zaidin Hmar.

Soon after the goal, veteran striker Dipendu (replacing Theo) and Nilendra Deewan was brought in to propel Mohammedan attack.

Edu, who looked focused, had a good game today. He engineered several attacks from the left wing, however, his shots were either saved by the keeper or missed by a whisker.

Everybody thought that Mohammedan Sporting should qualify to the next round, it has been a pathetic display by them so far!

Result:

• Mohammedan Sporting Club 1 (Amrit Pal Singh-21') Oil India 1 (Zaidin Hmar-70')
• Vasco 4 (Joy Ferrao-26' and 65', Koko Sakibo-25' and 90+1' [penalty]) Malabar United 0

Next Match - May 17 (Round 5):

• HAL versus ONGC, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus Sesa Football Academy, 4 pm  

46th Moulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: ASC move to semi-final

Three Bangalore teams, ASC, Madras Engineering Group, Bangalore (MEG), and Southern Blues are participating in the 46th edition of the Moulana Abulkalam Azad Trophy organized by the United Sports Club, Kayalpatnam, Thoothukkudi Dist., Tamil Nadu.

Played in a knock-out format, this football tournament has a long history. The preliminary rounds started on May 11. Other participating teams are Thoothukkudi Dist FA, Tamil Nadu Police (Chennai), Golden Trident (Ahmedabad), Diamond FC (Mirag), Akola FC, Coastal FC (Trivandrum), SBI Chennai, Nethaji, Asian Youth FC.

In a Pre-quarter final match, ASC, Bangalore placed in Pool B defeated Thoothukkudi Dist FA 5-0. Ramachandra scored a hat-trick in the first-half, scored another one in the second-half, and Thaygaraj scored the 5th goal for ASC.

Later in the quarter final match played on May 13, ASC defeated Tamil Nadu Police 5-4. The match was decided in tie-breaker; both the teams were tied 1-1 at the full-time.

ASC will play their semi-final match on Friday, May 28.

Is Satish Kumar Junior Kolkata bound?

The performance of Satish Kumar junior has been top-class in HAL’s conquest to regain the past glory. He has been all over the place – attacking from the flank, making quick moves, scoring for his team, and many times coming down to support the defense.

No doubt that an all-rounder like Satish would catch the fancy of the top clubs in India. Mohammedan Sporting and Vasco have expressed interest on this state campaigner and former Karnataka junior captain. However, looking that these teams are still uncertain to qualify for the I-League division 1, Sathish is looking for greener pastures, and keen on joining a top I-league club.

GardenCitySoccerStars came to know about Satish approached by Mohunbagan. Talking to us, Satish did acknowledge that he is being talking to a Mohun

Bagan official, who is present here in Bangalore to spot players for the coming season. Answering to our question about signing a contract for Mohun Bagan, the diminutive player denied, “I would love to play for a big club like Mohun Bagan, but even HAL is almost certain to qualify for the 1st division. Would be talking to the HAL management now! However, would like to concentrate on the remaining 3 games.”

It’s high time that the HAL management proactively works on retaining their core team, else the talent would migrate to greener pastures, and they will find difficult to form a formidable team to compete in a much bigger stage.

Confident HAL march on

A confident looking HAL shrugged-off early jitters and defeated Vasco 2-1. Vasco initially unsettled HAL’s campaign and took the lead in the 2nd minute. HAL came back strongly into the match and scored a goal in each half. In the earlier match, Malabar United defeated NISA 1-0.

A defensive error by Bimal Minz gave Vasco an opportunity to take the lead. Sibra Narzary received the ball from foreigner Koko, coming from the right side fast-paced Sibra dribbled past Bimal Minz, and took an accurate shot to the near post. The ball went past to the left of keeper Amar Deb.

Perhaps, this jolt was needed for HAL, they started playing posessional game, and slowly came back to the game. 20 minutes into the game and HAL equalized. Minz gave a long pass to Xavier, who was moving dangerously from the left flank. The later was brought down by defender Sudeesh Muttiah. Fredrick Okwagbe timed his spot-jump in perfection from Xavier’s free-kick and scored the equalizer.    

The winning goal came from the 20-year old diminutive striker Satish Kumar Junior, who hails from the football nursery of Bangalore, Gowthampuram and has been a revelation for HAL. It was the old war horse Xavier Vijay Kumar again in action. From the left flank, he floated a cross to the far post for skipper, Rajendra Prasad. Prasad’s powerful header hit the cross-piece and rebounded into the ground, Satish Kumar Junior rightly came close to the ball and scored the winner.

Vasco pressed a lot but denied an equalizer, thanks to some tight defending by HAL.

The match was marred by some poor referring by Amjad Khan Mansoori. Just after the final whistle, Vasco players and officials barged into the field and attacked the referee. A timely intervention by the KSFA officials prevented from any untoward incident. The crowd came in a sizeable number of around 3000 today. One section of them reacted wildly and started pelting empty bottles and molded chairs to the Vasco players. The bizarre part was that the deployed police not seen in the scene.

Talking to GardenCitySoccerStars, Chitti Babu, the match commissioner sounded normal, “Nothing great as happened today, match got over, then few players and team officials charged referee. I don’t see any wrong in referee’s part as he completed the match. Security personnel’s were deployed there, however, I feel they were inadequate in numbers, I’ll mention this in my report.”

Post match comments:

Muralidharan, coach, HAL: Good win for us, we are inching closer to our target. Now the next match against ONGC is crucial for us, a win should give us license to play 1st division next season. We’ll play the same winning combination next match. Once we achieve our goal, then we can try out our bench strength.

Satish Kumar Junior, striker, HAL: I’m elated, good to see I’m coming good for my team. I’ve represented India in Under-17 national, captained Karnataka state in under-19, and also represented Karnataka in Santosh Trophy. I am not new in the striker position. Before joining HAL I was playing in this position. I had talks with a couple of top national-level clubs, but keen on playing for a top I-league team.

Result:

• Malabar United 1 (Javeed P A-17') beat NISA 0
• HAL 2 (Fredrick Okwagbe-20 and Satish Kr. Jr.-51') versus Vasco 1 (Sibra Narzary-2')

Next Match - May 16 (Round 5):

• Mohammedan Sporting Club versus Oil India, 2 pm
• Vasco Sports Club versus Malabar United, 4 pm

Mohammedan Sporting struggle to beat Sesa; Tarif’s trick floors oil men

Mohammedan made a heavy weather of defeating bottom-ranked Sesa by 2-1. Theo and defender Debkumar Sashmal scored a goal each in either half. Jaiganesh Koltekar scored one for Sesa in the 2nd half. In an earlier rather

entertaining match played today, ONGC brightened their position to qualify for the final round by bulldozing the other public sector team, Oil India 4-1.

National team striker, Tarif Ahmed scored the first hat-trick of the final edition.
 

Lagging 4th behind HAL, ONGC, and Vasco, Mohammedan needed to win this match in a convincing fashion to stay in contention for promotion. Mohammedan scored the first goal in the 38th minute in Liberian Theodore.

Both the teams opened up many chances and missed as many in the game. In the early second-half, Sesa came back into the game by a goal from rookie Jaiganesh Koltekar. 5 minutes after the equalizer, Theo took the ball from the left flank and penetrated inside the box, Jothikumar who was rightly-positioned, failed to connect the ball properly.

In the 59th minute, substitute Nilendra Deewan took a horrible wide shot away from the goal. It came to him from a deflection from Theo’s shot, which was perfectly floated from the right-flank.

Sesa striker Israil Gurung, who broke an off-side trap, was set alone with the keeper in the front in the 68th minute. However, he was tripped down by defender Samuel Shore at the top of the penalty box. Mid-fielder, Prathesh Shirodkar’s free kick was shot wide.

Mohammedan took the lead in 79th minute, Edu was cutting in dangerously

from the left flank until the defender cleared it for corner. Edu took the corner that was meant for Theo, which the later closely missed, finally opportunistic defender Debkumar Sashmal who closely followed and placed the ball into the goal.

Sesa later came back and started pressurizing Mohammedan defense, but failed to keep the ball into the goal-area.

Post match comments:

Shabbir Ali, coach, Mohammedan Sporting: Disappointing show again, never

seen my team playing so badly. I thought we would pull this out easily, but it turned otherwise. Other challenge is that two important players are out for the next match due to double booking. Don’t have options in all departments; have to shuffle the playing positions.

Clifford Chukwuma, coach, Sesa: Our boys created many opportunities but lacked in penetration and final touch. Even blew several set-pieces from crucial positions. Also, we’re missing our main striker, who is injured and played an important role in Goa’s Santosh Trophy victory last year.

Theodore Sunday Wrobeh, scorer, Mohammedan Sporting: We’ve won today, and there are 3 more rounds to play, so all is not lost, we need to come well in the remaining matches..

Result:

• ONGC 4 (Tarif Ahmed-28', 44', and 66' and Badmus Babatunde-38') beat Oil India ( H L Route-76')
• Mohammedan Sporting 2 (Theodore Sunday-38' and Debkumar Sashmal-79') beat Sesa Football Academy 1 (Jaiganesh Koltekar-49')

Next Match - May 13 (Round 4):

• Malabar United versus NISA, 2 pm
• HAL versus Vasco, 4 pm

HAL whacks Mohammedan Sporting

In a spectacular display of football, city giant HAL upset Mohammedan Sporting’s I-league division 1 plan with a 4 goal victory. In the other match played earlier today, Vasco defeated hapless NISA with a 2-0.

More than 10,000 football lovers turned out to witness this super Sunday game and shouted their heart out for their favorite team. HAL fans surely got their money’s worth as they saw many exhilarating moments in the match including a breathtaking goal by Xavier Vijaykumar.

If the first 25 minutes if the match belonged to Mohammedan, the rest essentially belonged to HAL! They scored 4 and came close to scoring another 4 in the match.

HAL made the first advance in the 4th minute of the match by a nice move from skipper Rajendra Prasad to Fredrick, the later shot was thwarted by a nice reflex from keeper Naseem Akhtar.

Showing urgency, Mohammedan made some quick raid to the opponent’s defense. In 20th minute, Edu received a brilliant pass which was cleared by a HAL defender for corner. Dead-ball expert Edu’s, corner shot not cleared by the HAL defense; Theo gets the ball in the muddle, and finally scores for his team.
 
After conceding the goal, HAL was trying hard to get back to the game. Satish Kumar (junior) set some good balls for his mates, which was wasted by Murali and Fredrick.

In 34th minute, Xavier’s harmless thru from the top of the penalty box was missed by the sporting defender, lucky to receive, Fredrick fails to put the ball on the right spot, and finally goalkeeper Naseem Akhtar saves it.

2 minutes later, the action was again centered on Xavier, who takes a classic curling left-footed shot from the right-corner of the box. The shot was so accurately dipped into the far post that the fully-stretched keeper couldn’t reach near the ball.

Thought HAL strikers made mess from some crucial moves, the equalizer was an outcome of continuous pressure from their end.

After changing ends, Sporting made some quick attacks, however, their strikers were heavily marked and failed to penetrate to the striking zone.

HAL took lead the in the 52nd minute - defender Anupam Sarkar’s sloppy defending proved costly as Nigerian Fredrick gained from the mistake, with no one to challenge him, he ran all alone with the ball, and placed it to the top-left corner of the net. Mohammedan Sporting keeper could not do much here.

Meanwhile, Brazillian Edu was doing what he is best known for – trying his luck on set-pieces and putting good crosses. However, Mohammedan lacked the eagerness to work out from the ground passes, and seldom were they given space by the HAL defense.

In 76th minute, Edu’s in-swerving free-kick from a foul near the right-side of the corner was somehow foiled by Amar Deb for a corner. The corner proved futile for Mohammedan and HAL made a quick counter attack. Seems no one from the Mohammedan defense could pick Xavier, and the came out scoring his 2nd (teams 3rd) goal of the match.

Mohammedan brought in veteran striker Dipendu Biswas and attacking mid-fielder Niledra Diwan from the reserve, however their introduction made hardly any difference for Mohammedan.

The real hero for HAL was definitely Satish Kumar (junior), his speedy runs from the left flank and then cutting inside the box created havoc in Mohammedan defense.

Murali made a mess of the situation in the 87th minute of the match – Xavier did well to cover a lot of ground and then passed to Murali, the later only had the keeper in front of him, rather than placing the ball, he took a wild shot that went above the goal spot. A minute later, another Murali shot was splendidly saved by Naseem Akhtar.

The climax was rightly kept for the last minute of the match. Another cross from Satish Kumar (junior) went for Xavier, goal keeper came out from the goal line, and charged the ball. The keeper missed the ball and it was out of his reach. Xavier only needed to push the ball, however, a niggling sprain deprived his from doing so, and Naseem came out and cleared the ball. Unfortunately for Mohammedan Sporting, the ball felled right front the skipper Rajendra Prasad. Looking that the keeper is out of his position, Rajendra Prasad accurately lobbed the ball to the goal, much to the delight of the thousands of crowd.


Post match comment:

Shabbir Ali, coach, Mohammedan Sporting: Truly disappointed, played very horrible game today. Makes our task really difficult! Now, even a draw today would have placed us in a better position. It’s difficult from now on. Though we’ve played with the tougher teams and we’ll play with the relatively weak teams, we’ve a challenging task to cut out.

Muralidharan, coach, HAL: We went out with a strategy and played as per our plans. Glad to say that all the players played their role and executed in perfection.

Xavier VijayKumar, veteran player, HAL: Great win for us, Md. Sporting is a strong team, winning by a big margin has lifted our moral, and that will help us for the rest of the matches. All the counter attacks were a part of the plan, and glad that it yielded result.
I do no have any intention to captain my team for now, there is less pressure, I'm enjoying it, and it is being reflected in my game.

Result:

• Vasco 2 (Joy Ferrao-60’ and Koko Sakibo-84’) NISA 0
• HAL 4 (XAVIER VIJAY KUMAR- 37’ and 77, Fredrick Okwagbe-52’, and Rajendra Prasad-90’+5) Mohammedan Sporting 1 (Theodore Sunday-21’)

Next Match - May 12 (Round 4):

• Oil India versus ONGC, 2 pm
• Sesa Football Academy versus Mohammedan Sporting, 4 pm

Mohammedan cut short NISA

Playing better football today, Mohammedan Sporting outclassed nippy NISA, Manipur 2-0. Foreign recruits, Theodore Sunday and Edu Escobar scored a goal in each half. In the earlier match, ONGC, riding on Babatunde’s goal defeated Vasco 1-0.

It was match of tactics over speed and stamina. Knowing that his lads would not be able to cope-up with speedy NISA, Mohammedan coach Shabbir Ali, played a posessional game.

Sporting meant business right from the starting of the game. In the very 1st minute, Edu floated a nice long ball for Jyothikumar, and Jyothikumar in turn made complete a mess of it. It was Edu’s turn in the 8th minute, he was completely caught unaware of a ball centered from right wing.

Theo made a good solo run in the 10th minute and gave the final pass for Edu, which the later failed to connect.

The midfield operated very well for Mohammedan with Jyotikumar making speedy runs from both sides in turn. The defense too, lead by Aussie Samuel Jordan and Anupam Sarkar carried out their role.

Mohammedan looked more composed today. Edu was sharper on the dead ball situations and Theo made several solo runs from the half.

NISA came close to scoring in the 35th minute with a nice move, Santosh Singh made a long area with the ball, and then crossed the ball from the right, the ball beat keeper Nassem but, couldn’t get into the direction of the goal.

Jyotikumar, operating quickly from the left flank was brought down in 38th minute. Set-piece expert, Edu took a curving free-kick to the left-post, the ball hit the keeper’s chest, Theo managed to get the ball on the rebound, and put it inside the net.

A serious lapse in defense from Debkumar Sashmal could have cost Sporting a goal in the 2nd minute of 2nd half. Theo continuously attacked from the front, however, he failed to the score any more goal. At times he took too long to move inside the box and later outsmarted by NISA defense. He should have scored at least 2 more goals today.

NISA made few quick counters, but they lacked the sharpness in the striking area.

Edu displayed some exemplary skills with the ball today, though he lacks on speed and tenacity, but he covered that with his some crisp-touches and error-free passes.

The match official was almost going to blow his long whistle, when the 2nd goal came for Mohammedan. Theo seized the ball from the opponent and passed it to medio Babin, who in turn, passed the ball from the penalty box region to Edu. Edu coming from the right side, shot the ball accurately to the goal.

Talking to GardenCity Soccer Stars, coach Shabbir Ali, sounded satisfied. He said the boys played better football today. He liked the way his boys created goal scoring opportunities, though missed many. However, he is confident about increasing the conversion rates. Striker Edu, who had a field day today, looked happy to be within the goals.

NISA coach, Lakhsmichand Singh blamed inexperience for the result today. “It is a learning experience for us, out guys lacks the experience needed in this level”. He will try to blood some rookies in the next game and expects to put up a better show.

Mohammedan Sporting plays against board leader HAL in their 3rd round match on Sunday, May 9, 4 pm.

Result:

• ONGC 1 (Badmus Babatunde-47’) Vasco Sports Club 0
• Mohammedan Sporting 2 (Theodore Sunday-38’ and Edu-90+3) NISA, Manipur 0

Next Match - May 8 (Round 3):

• Sesa Football Academy versus Oil India, 2 pm
• Malabar United versus ONGC, 4 pm

HAL trounce Oil men

In a skillful display of the game of football, HAL crushed Oil India, Dhuliajan 3-1 in their second round match of the I-League 2nd division. HAL was leading by a Xavier VijayKumar goal in the first-half. In the other match of the day, Malabar United defeated Sesa Football Academy 3-0.

HAL started the game with a proper plan to hold the speedy Oil men. Xavier played from the flank and Satish Kumar (jr.) started with Fredrick as a striking duo.
 
Match progressed in a lively pace with Oil India bagging the first corner in the 4th minute of the match. A minute later, it was HAL’s turn from the other side. However, Jotin’s head from the corner went wide.

HAL kept the possession of the ball in the opponent's end, playing short passes, and then going for the kill. They got their first chance as early as 13th minute, Nigerian Fredrick received the final pass from a nice move, however, Fredrick’s feeble shot went outside the goal post. Fredrick’s striking partner, Sathish Kumar (jr) couldn’t capitalize from a defensive lapse in the 19th minute.

Oil India got a chance by Ricky Joy’s rare clumsy clearance in the 21st minute. Stopper Femi Adeola had no other option, but to come down heavily on the Oil India striker. The free-kick from the top-corner of the penalty box yielded no result for Oil India.

Unlucky to say the least, Oil India could have taken the lead in the 29th minute, Jayanta Basumatary’s powerful right-footed long ranger hit the left post; keeper Amar Deb was no where close to the ball.

HAL picked up their 1st goal after a minute from a corner. Skipper Rajendra Prasad took the flag-kick, wily Xavier VijayKumar headed the ball that was beyond the reach of the keeper.

HAL put up a spirited performance after the goal, with the striker duo combining well, ably supported by the mid-field.

After changing ends, HAL came out in a more organized manner and the 2nd goal was just the result of that discipline - Sathish Kumar (jr) scored after dribbling past 2 defenders.

Oil India had their share of chances, they did well to get the ball to the opponent’s end, but then it was the regular story of losing the plot and missing easy chances. The lacked the finishing abilities and were often clueless inside the penalty box area.

Meanwhile, Xavier scored his second goal in the 71st minute. Substitute for Oil India Prashanta Choudhary pulled one the 87th minute. But by then it was all over for Oil India.

Xavier, who scored a brace, talked to us after the match, he was happy in team’s performance, however, he was not satisfied by his own performance in the role of the winger. He hopes to better it and ready the don the new role for his team.

2 wins from 2 matches and today’s result must satisfy HAL coach Muralidharan. HAL played a far better game today, they excelled in all departments! They have scored 3, and should have scored another 3 today.

Malabar thrash Sesa

In another match played earlier today, Kerala outfit, Malabar United won convincingly against the academy team from Sesa, Goa. All the 3 goals were scored in the second-half. 

The teams were at par in the first half, however, 2 quick goals in the early 2nd half dented the morale of the young Sesa guys, and then they failed to come back to the game.

Clifford Chukwama, who earlier coached I-league division 1 team Sporting Club de Goa, blamed experience (rather lack of it) for this result. “Two goals in quick succession did us in. Also, the penalty was not justified as my player made no body contact with the opponent player.” said Chukwama. Also added, “2 defeats from as many matches, had really made the task difficult for us”.

Result:

• Malabar United 3 (Loveday-53', Asif K-55 [penalty], and Firos K-70') Sesa Football Academy 0
• HAL 3 (30' and 71'-Xavier Vijaykumar, and Satish Kumar jnr.-53') Oil India 1 (Prasanta-87')

Next Match - May 5 (Round 2):

• Vasco Sports Club versus ONGC, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus Mohammedan Sporting Club, 4 pm

Mohammedan only manages a draw against ONGC

It was an apparent tame start for Mohammedan Sporting in the I-League 2nd division final round. They were down by a goal in the most of the time, until a smart free kick from Brazilian Edu Escobar in the 75th minute helped them to garner 1 point.

Mohammedan started well with some nice moves from the center. However, they conceded goal in the 32nd minute when ONGC skipper Jatin Singh Bist gave an accurate pass to Naresh, Naresh obliged his skippers pass with a nice curling kick to the far post, which was beyond the reach of the stretched keeper Nasim Akhtar.

Mohammedan defense lacked the much needed coordination with several miss passes. ONGC’s striker Babatudne came close to scoring in couple of occasions.

Striker duo Edu and Liberian Teodor Sunday Wobreh lacked mobility and failed to penetrate. Rather than moving with the ball, Edu depended heavily on his set-piece moves.

Mohammedan coach and former India international, Shabbir Ali replaced a mid-fielder Nelandra Deewan for a defender in Anupam Sarkar in the second-half. This was a smart move as Nelandra’s inclusion gave stability in the midfield for Mohammedan.

Mohammedan could have leveled in early second half - Jyothi Kumar put a fine cross for Theo in the 49th minute, however, the Liberian’s shot, who received the ball and was wonderfully positioned went wide.

The equalizer came when Nelandra Deewan was brought-down at the top of the box. Edu, whose earlier 3 free-kicks failed to yield any result, was successful this time - his kick on the right side of the post had precision, kissed the horizontal bar, and went inside the goal.

In the  87th minute, keeper Nasim Akthar came up with a brilliant save from Babatunde shot.

The ONGC stoppers, Krishna Shirodkar and Bolaji Majek kept the defense tight, they didn’t give much space to Theo and Edu to maneuver. They pressed hard in the later part of 2nd half with replacement Tarif Ahmed and Babatunde combining well, ably supported by Jatin Bist from the mid-field, however, they failed to score any goal.

NISA Oil India Split Points

In what could be termed as the most entertaining match so far in the 2nd division final phase, two teams from the North-East played a fast-paced game. Oil India took the lead in the 33rd minute thru an H Wary goal, few minutes later NISA scored the equalizer via Malemnganba Meetei. 

The teams from Manipur and Assam had the speed, however, the strikers lacked the finishing touch. Manipuri fans thronged the stadium in huge numbers.

 Result:

• Mohammedan Sporting Club 1(Edu Escobar-75’) versus ONGC 1(A Naresh-32’)
• NISA, Manipur 1(Malemnganba Meetei 41') versus Oil India 1(H. Wary 33')

Next Match - May 4 (Round 2):

• Malabar United versus Sesa Football Academy, 2 pm
• HAL versus Oil India, 4 pm

I-League 2nd Division Final Round Points Table

• [Round 6] Friday, May 21, 2010: With absolute dominance, ONGC clinched the license to play for the coveted I-league division 1 next season. ONGC’s endeavor in the final leg of has been a revelation. They have played like a champion, wining all but one match so far, and already achieved what they wanted before playing their last round match. City team HAL needs only a point to achieve what the other public sector has achieved and to do that they have to wait for their final round match against Sesa on Monday. It is not yet over for Vasco, to see them qualifying for I-league division 1, HAL should loose against Sesa, and then must beat Mohammedan Sporting with a decent margin. Currently Vasco is ahead (2-goal) in goal difference. Mohammedan Sporting has been a true disappointment in this edition. The rest of the teams, Malabar United, Oil India, NISA, and Sesa Football Academy lacked the experience needed in this stage.
  
• [Round 5] Monday, May 17, 2010: Good show from the ONGC team helped them to get in to the pole-position for the first time in 5 rounds. They remain the only team unbeaten so far and virtually booked their place in the 1st division. In the final leg, HAL lost points for the first time today, however, they too are right there at the top with a point less from the leaders. 
  
  
• [Round 4] Thursday, May 13, 2010: Consistent performance by HAL makes them an almost-sure contender for the next season I-League 1st division. HAL is virtually thru until they make something very stupid in the coming 3 matches. Another public sector team, ONGC has performed extremely well to stay unbeaten after 4 rounds. The following 3 teams, Mohammedan Sporting, Malabar, and Vasco are closely labeled. A must win for their round 5 matches should they want to stay in contention for the top-two spot. There is no change in the 3 bottom-ranked teams, Oil India, Sesa, and NISA remains as is, and their is no realistic hope for them to qualify for division 1.
  
  
• [Round 3]Sunday, May 9, 2010:  Steady show by the host team so far; third win from as many matches, HAL leads the points table with 9 points. Close to them is another public sector team, ONGC, with 7 points; thanks to their superfine performance in the 3rd round. Vasco with 2 wins and a loss is also in the contention for the top 2 spots. With today’s loss, it makes difficult for Mohammedan Sporting’s to book a berth of the I-League 1st division.
  
  
• [Round 2] Thursday, May 5, 2010: Former I-league division 1 team, HAL leads the table after their morale boosting win over Oil India. Another big wig, Mohammedan Sporting is following them closely, thanks to their convincing win over NISA, Manipur today. Interestingly, both the top team meets on a derby-like clash on Sunday, May 9. ONGC on 3rd spot is the other unbeaten team. Malabar and Vasco, with one win and loss are at 4th and 5th spot respectively. Both the teams need to get their act together and perform well in the coming rounds. The bottom-placed teams, NISA, Oil India, and Sesa are surely lacking experience in playing in the big stage.
  
  
• [Round 1] Saturday, May 1, 2010: Vasco and HAL lead the pack after Round 1. After splitting points in the first game, former I-league team, Mohammedan Sporting is languishing at the lower-half. However, early days of the I-league final phase, so, a lot of changes are expected to take place as the game progresses.

Jotin’s strike helps HAL to start on a winning note

City giant HAL survived several scares but held firm and finally ended on a winning note against Malabar United in the opening day of the I-League 2nd division final round. In the first match of the day, Vasco, Goa defeated their state team Sesa Football Academy 2-1.

It was HAL minus their three ever dependable players playing today - strikers Frederick Okwagbe and Xavier Vijaykumar out due to two yellow cards and Bimal Minz out due to a marching order the last match. Cards from the qualifying round were carried over to the final round, alright!

The match started on a breezy note with Malabar earning a corner in the first minute of the match. Few minutes later it was HAL taking corner from the other end. However, none of the team could score a goal. HAL who looked weak on paper was on an attacking spree during that time. Mid-fielder Murali twice failed to connect header in 7th and 11th minute. Also, Sathish Kumar’s (senior) long ranger in 16th and 21st minute failed to create any opening for HAL. Meanwhile Sathish Kumar (junior) made some nice moves from the middle.

When everyone thought that the match would go goalless during the lemon-break, Jotin Singh did the trick much to the delight of the crowd. Ricky Joy floated a nifty cross to the box from the right flank, Jotin did the rest with an accurate header.

HAL had the lady luck smiling on them, surely! In the second half, Malabar United skipper Jacken Sebastian came close to scoring several times, however, their effort was thwarted most of the time by the woodwork.

HAL’s defense looked tad short in communication and Malabar started putting pressure. A complete hara-kiri by the HAL defense almost earned the equalizer for Malabar in the 68th minute. Femi’s feeble header was taken by Javed, meanwhile keeper Deb left the goal and missed the flight, the goal was wide open, however, the ball hit the far post, and was inching towards the goal, finally Jai Kumar cleared ball from the goal-line.

Sitting out for the maximum time, foreigner Loveday was brought in at the dying minutes of the game, however, he too could not change the course of the match.

Result:

• Vasco 2 (Biju Kumar-75', Joy Ferdao-86') beat Sesa Football Academy 1 (Lesly Fernandes-40')
• HAL 1 (Jotin Singh-45+1’) beat Malabar United 0

Saturdays match:

• Mohammedan Sporting Club versus ONGC, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus Oil India, 4 pm