The Hindu : Sport / Football : Dayanand stars in HAL's win

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

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Sport - Football

Dayanand stars in HAL's win

BANGALORE, APRIL 28. Dayanand scored the winner for HAL in the dying minutes of the match, helping it scrape through with a 2-1 victory over FC Kochin in the Second Division National Football League Group I match here on Wednesday. Until then Dayanand was a picture of frantic runs marred by the failed finishing touch. But with the seconds ticking by, he eventually found his mark with a header off a Rajendra Prasad floater.

The early minutes saw a series of frustrating moments for the both sides. Xavier Vijaya Kumar and Rajendra Prasad shot wide for HAL while FC Kochin's moment of hope was lost in the very first minute as HAL custodian Balaji pouched a Rajesh Thomas right footer. In the 11th minute, a long pass from Dayanand helped Satish Kumar flummox FC Kochin goalkeeper V. Santosh. However in the melee near the goalmouth, Satish shot wide but found an unwitting ally in the rival team's defender Babujob whose boots deflected the wide volley into his own citadel.

The match then meandered along with HAL's sorties only ending in despair. Xavier and Satish were guilty of squandering gilt-edged chances. Minutes before the break, FC Kochin suffered another setback as Rocky Kom got a red card for a foul on Santosh Kiran.

Referee Jayendra Nagvenkar was again in the thick of action later in the second half as he flashed the red card for HAL's Obinna Winners for obstructing and pulling at the jersey of Philip Tarulue. The teams, down to ten men each, continued with their diffident approach with Dayanand and FC Kochin's Shafeeq messing up their opportunities. However Shafeeq latched on as HAL's goalkeeper Balaji and defender Santosh Kiran had a head-on collision while attempting to clear a long ball, and found his mark off the resultant rebound in the 66th minute.

The match then spilled over into injury time when Dayanand had his moment of redemption. The two teams, busy charting a comeback trail, were short of confidence and it showed in their tentative steps near the goalmouth. Hopefully the teams will learn their lessons.

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