Ahmed Nabi scores four goals for Bihar

By Our Sports Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 30. It was an inconsequential tie but had the intensity of a final, as Manipur and Bihar shared eight goals in a lively quarterfinal league encounter of the 37th National junior football championship for the Dr. B.C. Roy Trophy at the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium here on Wednesday.

Assam's inability to score 12 goals against Maharashtra in the first match had ensured Bihar's entry into the semifinals but that did not deter the side from going all-out against the defending champion Manipur.

Infact at one stage, it looked as if Bihar would walk away with the honours, as it lead 4-2 until the 70th minute when Manipur scored twice in space of two minutes to clinch a draw.

Striker Syed Ahmed Nabi scored all the four goals including a hat-trick for Bihar (8th, 23rd, 30th and 57th), while Tiken Singh (4th and 71st), Seijalal Haokip and Shyam Sundar Sharma (73rd) scored for Manipur.

The match started at a brisk pace despite the slippery turf and the teams assured semifinal places, as Manipur went ahead in the fourth minute when Tiken Singh negotiated his way into the Bihar penalty area and scored with a right-footer.

It took only four minutes for Bihar to restore parity as Krishna Tudu broke away from a pack of Manipur defenders to find the target with an angular shot. In the very next minute, Manipur defender Ranabir Singh effected a goalline save, pulling the ball back, as a Shylo shot eluded goalkeeper's Robikanta Singh's desperate dive.

Manipur once again shot into the lead in the 17th minute when Seijalal Haokip slid a shot into the goal off a low corner from James Singh. But Manipur's goal fell in the 23rd minute when a right-footer from Nabi was deflected into the goal off a defender's body. Nabi completed his hat-trick in the 30th minute with another right-footer, which bounced off Robikanta Singh's hand and rolled into the net.

It was Bihar, which held the upper hand in the initial stages of the second half. Avinash Thapa and Nabi both missed the target narrowly, while Bihar goalkeeper Satish Kumar brought off a point blank save from Tiken Singh. Bihar increased the lead in the 57th minute when Krishna Tudu beat the off-side trap and advanced into the Manipur box. The striker instead of taking the shot himself squared to Nabi, who was in a better position and he made no mistake.

The goal galvanised the Manipur side, which began to show more purpose in its sorties. Tiken Singh headed in a precise cross from Bhumehore Singh to make it 3-2 for Manipur and two minutes later restored parity. Bihar defender Sanaullha Qureshi brought down Jotin Singh inside the penalty box and the resultant penalty was converted by Shyama Sundar Sharma without much fuss. The teams played it safe in the remaining minutes.

The soft underfoot conditions put paid to Assam's hopes of a big win. Though Assam managed to beat Maharashtra 2-1 it was the loser, which won the applause with a gutsy display after losing its goalkeeper Abrar Ansari in the 16th minute for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Maharashtra's first choice goalkeeper Asif Khan was nursing an injury and it was striker Abhimanyu Chorge, who took over as the goalkeeper. He did a fantastic job and brought off a few good saves.

Bhim Kanta Sonowal put Assam ahead in the eighth minute through a solo effort. But thereafter, it was Maharashtra, which called the shots. In the 25th minute, Sajid Ansari failed to connect a long lob from Rizvi and in the 30th minute Rizvi's free-kick narrowly missed the target.

Finally, Maharashtra got the equaliser through captain Stephen Dias, who was in position to meet a low centre from Bruno Sieiro. Darlov Gogi scored the match-winner for Assam by flicking in a cross from Amos Subba in the 62nd minute. Though Maharashtra tried hard to find the equaliser it could not break the Assam defence.

After tomorrow's rest day, Orissa will meet Bihar, while Manipur plays Bengal in the semifinals.

The standings: Group `A': (read as played, won, draw, lost, goals scored, goals against, points): Manipur: 3-2-1-0-7-5-7; Bihar: 3- 1-2-0-15-4-5; Assam: 3-1-1-1-2-2-4; Maharashtra: 3-0-0-3-2-15-0 (Manipur and Bihar qualified for the semifinals).

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