Kerala tops group after drawing with Bengal

By A. Vinod

THRISSUR, APRIL 16. In the end, it was a just result though Kerala was forced to fight hard to earn a 1-1 draw against champion Bengal and top Group `X' of the quarterfinal league of the 56th National football championship at the Municipal stadium here on Sunday.

Despite the draw, Bengal, by virtue of finishing second in the four-team pool, is also through to the semifinals, a fact confirmed by the Karnataka and Services encounter ending in a 1-1 draw earlier. Except for the scoreline, the two matches were poles apart with the Kerala-Bengal game vastly superior in action, skill and individual brilliance.

The sale of tickets had been closed one hour before the first match of the day after the galleries were packed to capacity. And if the crowd was left disappointed with the fare dished out during the first encounter, it did get its full worth when Kerala clashed with Bengal to decide the group topper.

Undoubtedly, it was for the first time in 10 days one witnessed two teams with no inhibitions whatsoever, and even if there were no goalbound moves of the expected variety it was compensated by the die-hard efforts in the middle. The defence kept the two sides in good stead, with Jo Paul Anchery and M. Suresh excelling for Kerala and Falguni Dutta, Ratan Singh and Anit Ghosh in the thick of action for the champion outfit.

The interceptions by Anchery and Suresh helped the Kerala side progress into the Bengal corner time and again, and gain as many as three flag-kicks within the first quarter hour. I.M. Vijayan, however, missed the target narrowly off a move he initiated from the right. Rifling his way into the heart of the Bengal box, Vijayan's intended push to the far corner was just off the mark.

Kerala appeared to be in control when Suresh Babu and Boniface repeatedly slipped the ball through to the waiting Asif Saheer and Abdul Hakkim, who was tried out today as a replacement for S. Ignatius. However, the Bengal defence was equal to the task and it was only the late tackle by stopper Anit Ghosh which stopped Saheer from converting the opportunity created by an overlapping M. Suresh from the right.

Vijayan then missed on both occasions he fired into the direction of Prasanta Dora and this was followed by yet another long-ranger from Boniface that went soaring over the bar. At the other end, Raman Vijayan, who was later substituted a few minutes into the second session by Dipendu Biswas, was out to create havoc but was disallowed by Anchery with a deft clearance.

The lone goal in the first-half came against the run of play with almost nine minutes remaining. Anchery tried another interception in the middle, but James Singh was quick enough to spot an unguarded R.P. Singh who took a shot almost immediately. Though it never seemed threatening, the ball, much to Kerala's ill-luck, ricocheted off the right shoulder of Jiju Jacob and bounced beyond the reach of a slightly advanced Saji Joy to bulge the net. M. Suresh made a valiant attempt to retrieve the ball but his effort went in vain.

The highlight of the rest of the proceedings, even after the restart, was the determination displayed by the two sides to pursue their own interests with flair and felicity. There were equal chances for both sides and though these openings went abegging due to the hasty approach of the forwards, Kerala was not be denied eventually much to the glee of its supporters. The equaliser was made possible by the two Kerala substitutes, M.K. Sunil and B. Edison, who were engaged in a 1-2 before the latter shot past Prasanta Dora with a right-footed volley.

Little excitement

In sharp contrast, the Karnataka-Services skirmish practically offered little as the former side never applied itself to the task of having to win the match to keep its chances alive. Of course, there was a second string attached if Karnataka was to make the grade: a Kerala win against Bengal.

Yet, it was a long shot and the side made no attempt to win by the required 5-0 margin. In the end, it was also lucky to escape a late rally from Services and earned its second point from three matches as the tie finished 1-1. The Services side looked totally demoralised at the start and was never in the picture, before Karnataka went ahead through a penalty conversion by Murali, the spot-kick being awarded for Naveen Gurung's handling of the ball well within the goal area.

However, the substitution of Fernandez and the induction of V.K. Mishra was to bring about a definite twist to the plot. Mishra also quickly helped his side gain the equaliser, initiating the crucial move that had its climax with Preetam Bahadur pasting the ball into the rival net.

On resumption, Karnataka went further behind and subsequently as time wore on was forced to put its best foot forward to stop Services from earning full points.

It was Mishra who again proved to be the fulcrum of the Services attack as he led the charge with quite efficiency. But then it was sad to see none of his efforts turn to fruition as Preetam Bahadur and substitute Vinod Bantava lacked the precision to put the ball beyond the reach of rival custodian, Antony.

Goa plays Maharashtra in the last match of the quarterfinal league on Monday.

The standings of Group `X' (read as played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against and points): Kerala 3-2-1-0-8-4-7; Bengal 3-1-2-0-7-3-5; Karnataka 3-0-2-1-4-5-2 and Services 3-0-1- 2-3-10-1.

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