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Football
ITI happy to draw with Mohun Bagan
By Our Sports Reporter
BANGALORE, DEC. 31. The ball crossed the goal-line twice. But that occurred when a little boy mixed enthusiasm and ball skills in equal measure during the lemon break. The National Football League fixture at the Football Stadium here on Monday was a tale of hands flung skywards while Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) and Mohun Bagan played out a goalless draw.
Mohun Bagan's approach seemed to echo with grim skies as coach Subrata Bhattacharje pegged back striker Jose Barreto in the mid-field until the break. Perhaps he feared a Bangalore jinx after suffering a 1-3 loss at the hands of HASC earlier. R. C. Prakash and James Singh donned the strikers mantle but a sense of predictability ruined their manoeuvres.
The Telephonemen fired the first and last salvos while ambling in between, happy to thrust a draw on Mohun Bagan's fortunes. A George Ekeh right footer had Mohun Bagan custodian Rajat Ghosh Dastidar flailing arms in the 11th minute. Luckily for him, the ball sailed over the crossbar and it was just a preview of the entire match replete with lost chances, aimless floaters and reckless headers.
The Kolkata outfit then wedged back with Barreto anchoring a James Singh run. However James shot wide and the match relapsed into zombie mode. The local fans suffered a scare when ITI custodian Balaji charged out for a clearance while defender S. Firoz inadvertently headed the ball dangerously close past the left upright with Mohun Bagan's R. C. Prakash making a belated effort.
The break did see a change as Mohun Bagan coach Subrata Bhattacharjee benched R. C. Prakash and reverted Barreto to his striker's role. The response was immediate as ITI, George Ekeh being the exception, backpedalled. Their butterflies in the stomach got worse when Barreto scythed the clogged defence, latched onto a Lolendro Singh backpass but found Balaji's gloves wider than a barn door.
Balaji showed glimpses of the form that got him the Country's reserve goal-keeper slot. And when he fisted out Rishi Kapoor's stinger, ITI had weathered the Kolkata storm. The local lads had the parting shot but luck deserted with Kenneth Onu's bouncing off the left upright.
Soon the final whistle left ITI holding onto a clean slate (one victory, four draws) while Mohun Bagan grappled with a recent slump (two wins, two draws and one loss). The teams leave for Kolkata with ITI facing-off East Bengal on January 5 while Mohun Bagan is pitted against Vasco on January 7.
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