Match abandoned due to rain

By. M.R. Praveen Chandran

CHALAKUDY, APRIL 1. Heavy rain and a soggy turf forced the Assam- Uttar Pradesh Cluster V encounter of the 56th National football championship for the Santosh Trophy to be abandoned at the Carmel Stadium here on Saturday.

Assam was leading by a goal when play was stopped after 30 minutes. Though it stopped raining a few minutes later ground conditions were so bad that the Match Commissioner, Mr. M. S. Krishnamoorthy, and referee, R. Ravikumar, decided to abandon the tie. The match will be replayed on Sunday morning.

The conditions were not so great either when the two teams took the field as there was water logging in certain areas following a heavy downpour in the afternoon.

The North-East side took the lead in the 20th minute. A corner kick by Assam's Nabjyothi Alukdar touched the hand of Uttar Pradesh defender Firoz Khan, who was surprised by the uneven bounce as the ball landed in front of him. The referee was quick to award a penalty which was converted by Akom Ao, who sent the goalkeeper the wrong way by placing the ball into the far post with a right footer. It began raining heavily soon after, forcing the match to be abandoned.

On Sunday, besides the replay, Tripura will play against Pondicherry (Cluster IV), while Delhi will meet Chandigarh in a Cluster VII match.

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