Friday, May 17, 2002
Friday, May 17, 2002 |
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Football
By Our Sports Reporter
Titanium deserved to win as it was the better side and clicked as a unit. It never allowed Punjab Police to settle down and play its trademark robust game. With hard tackles and quick releases, the Titanium midfielders wrested the initiative early and there was no shortage of passes to both Ebin Rose and Usman upfront. Titanium drew first blood in the 17th minute as Boniface sent Ebin clear on the left flank. The striker advanced into the penalty box, beating two defenders on the way, and his right-footer beat an on-rushing Punjab Police goalkeeper Satish Kumar. The ball hit the far post and went in, much to delight of the crowd. The Titanium defence, marshalled well by Najeeb Khan, was quick to nip any Punjab moves in the bud while Titanium kept up the pressure with fast counterattacks. The Thiruvananthapuram side increased its lead in the 45th minute. Striker Usman was brought down inside the box by Punjab Police defender Amit Kumar and the ensuing penalty was converted by Boniface without fuss. The early part of the second half saw a complacent Titanium defence allow both Gurpreet Singh and Vijay Pal to sneak in and take pot shots at the goal. Gurpreet messed up two gilt-edged chances in the first 10 minutes to let his team down. But Punjab let in a goal much against the run of play through a fast counterattack in the 69th minute. Usman finally scored the goal he was threatening to for so long in the match. The striker latched on to a rebound that came his way as Punjab Police defender Rajesh Kumar made a goalline save to deny the first attempt taken by Ebin. The goal saw Titanium play with more confidence. Usman and Ebin presented enough problems to the rival defence but it was substitute Shahjahan who rounded off the tally in the 87th minute as he chipped the ball over goalkeeper from near the corner flag. On Friday, State Bank of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, meets Karnataka Police, Bangalore, in the second semifinal.
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