J&K, Assam score big wins
Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam prevailed over their respective opponents in
contrasting styles in the preliminary cluster matches of the 58th National Football Championship, for the Santosh Trophy, in Imphal, on Friday.
While Jammu and Kashmir breezed past Rajasthan 4-0 in Cluster I, Mizoram got the better of Madhya Pradesh 2-1 in Cluster 3.
Meghalaya had to struggle before overcoming a spirited
challenge from Chandigarh to win 2-1, while Assam blanked
Andhra Pradesh 3-0 in the other cluster matches.
Bihar got a walk-over against Daman and Diu in Cluster 5 as the latter did not report in time
for the match.
The Jammu and Kashmir team rode on a double strike by
Deepak Sangral, with Manzoor Ahmad and Manoj Kumar netting
one apiece to garner full points against Rajasthan.
The winners drew first blood as early as the fourth
minute through Sangral before Ahmad made the scoreline 2-0 by
converting a penalty. The penalty was awarded after Suresh Saini
of Rajasthan obsructed Amrdeep Singh in the 19th minute.
J & K kept up the pressure and Sangral netted his second
goal in the 83rd minute, while Manoj kumar found the target
three minutes later to complete Rajasthan's rout.
Mizoram went ahead through Joseph Lalnunzira in the 10th
minute. They strengthened their position after the breather as
B Zonunsiama scored in the 48th minute before Rahamat Ali
reduced the margin in the 67th minute.
The Cluster 2 fixture between Meghalaya and Chandigarh
saw the former go ahead in the 17th minute through Richar
Noglien.
But Chandigarh fought back and restored parity in the
60th minute, when Munish Kumar shot home from close.
However, Meghalaya had the last laugh as Sukir Lamere
struck the winner ten minutes from time.
In Cluster 5, Assam had an easy prey in Andhra Pradesh
and went into the lemon break with a 2-0 lead. They retained
the momentum and scored an insurance goal seconds before the
final whistle to romp home with full points.
Utpal Basmumatari, Kamal Chhetry and Padum Brahma were the
scorers.
Tomorrow's fixtures:
Sikkim vs Arunachal Pradesh; Services vs Uttar Pradesh; Haryana vs Gujarat; Karnataka vs Tripura;
Orissa vs Delhi and Nagaland vs Andaman and Nicobar.
Complete Coverage: Santosh Trophy 2002
