Assam makes merry against Himachal Pradesh

By Our Sports Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 23. It was a massacre of the innocents as Assam whipped Himachal Pradesh 18-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals in the National junior football championship at the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium here on Wednesday.

Delhi edged out Tamil Nadu by a solitary goal in a tempestuous encounter to finish second in Cluster III. Assam which needed a big win today did it in style and used its opponent for target practice more than anything else.

Striker Brijab Mushary and captain Kamal Chetry scored hat- tricks, while Bhim Kanta Sonowal and Bijan Gayary made merry against a hapless Himachal side.

Himachal Pradesh today blooded Sachin Mehra under the bar, but he could not do anything as the Assam players scored at will. He was substituted by the regular goalkeeper Prashant Raj Thakur in the second half and he made a few comic saves to keep the crowd in good humour. Assam also missed a few gilt-edged chances in the second half much to the relief of the Himachal players.

Brijab opened the scoring in the fourth minute and went on to complete his hat-trick, scoring in the 7th, 13th and 22nd minutes respectively. The striker went on to score three more goals (29th, 39th and 47th minutes). Assam led 12-0 at half- time and the highlight of second session was the hat-trick by captain Kamal Chetry, who found the target in the 50th, 56th and 59th minutes respectively.

Bhim Kanta Sonowal (5th, 31st, 34th and 74th), Bijen Gayary (25th, 35th and 78th) and Ratu Sondwal (37th) were the other scorers for the winner. Himachal's only chance was wasted by Rajiv Gill who advanced into the rival box but, with only goalkeeper Marcus Basumatary to beat, slammed the ball into the post and hit the rebound back to the goalkeeper.

The Tamil Nadu players took the field against Delhi with a heavy heart knowing that they needed an impossible 15-goal victory margin to advance to the quarterfinals. But the match was one of the best played in the tournament, as both sides played an attacking game.

Tamil Nadu will rue the chances it missed especially in the second half, when it had Delhi defence under pressure. Play in the second half became a bit rough and referee Mathew Thomas had a tough time in the middle.

It was Delhi, which virtually had no chances of qualifying, which showed verve in the middle. Delhi unsettled Tamil Nadu's hard- tackling game and won possession in the midfield. Striker Sunil Chetri placed a left footer into the far corner of the net in the 16th minute to ascertain Delhi's early supremacy.

Tamil Nadu had two good looks at the rival goal in the first half. Goalkeeper Shakti Singh Saun parried a long ranger from M. Murugan and on the second occasion, M. Karthikeyan missed a sitter from close.

The action picked up in the second half and the Tamil Nadu goal had an early jolt when Delhi's Kanhai Sarkar's try from close hit the upright and bounced out of play. At the other end, Delhi goalkeeper Shakti Singh once again came to his side's rescue as he punched out a long try from A.C. Harinarayanan.

The Delhi goal had another escape when Murugan's long lob from 25 yards dipped in wickedly and brushed the crosspiece before going out.

But Murugan was to miss the easiest chance his team got, in the 63rd minute when he had an open goal before him. But the striker's left footer was wide off the mark.

Towards the end, Delhi concentrated more on defending its lead than launching any worthwhile moves and succeeded in that.

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Section  : Sport
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