Monday, Feb 03, 2003
Monday, Feb 03, 2003 |
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Football
The Karnataka team which emerged winner in the 39th Junior National football champonship in Thrissur on Sunday.
At the slushy Corporation stadium on Sunday, the lanky striker headed in the match-winner in the ninth minute of extra-time off a flag kick from Saravana. The overnight rain had rendered the turf slippery and muddy. Both the teams struggled to find their rhythm and the match lacked the intensity expected of a final. However, it was Goans who adapted to the conditions quickly. Relying more on long balls, the Goans had Karnataka back pedaling from the start. The Karnataka defence was split with monotonous regularity as Goans pressed hard. Goans came near scoring at least thrice in the first half and twice it was the cross bar that came to the rescue of the South Zone champion which lived dangerously. The first occasion was in the seventh minute when goalkeeper Ravindran fisted out a cross from Freiman Peixoto and the ball came to Zico Costa whose first-timer rebounded off the cross bar and came to Zico DE Souza who failed to control his shot from near. And later a curling free-kick from Freiman just outside the penalty box in the 17th minute beat Ravindran's and brushed the cross piece before going out. It was only at the fag end of the first half that Karnataka showed signs of ending its dormancy as it counter-attacked. But the moves lacked conviction to test the rival defence and it only temporarily shifted pressure from its half. A half hearted attempt by Joseph Daniel at the start of the second half saw a positive change in Karnataka's approach. The team slowly took control of the proceedings. With fast moves on either flanks, Karnataka had the Goan defence under pressure. Enjoying a rare spell of dominance, Karnatka created three chances in space of four minutes but all of them went a begging due to inability of the forwards to cash on to the openings that came their way. In the 69th minute, D. Raju broke free on the right and his precise cross caught the defence napping but Udaykumar and Dhanrani failed to connect as the chance went a begging. Two minutes later, Dharani could only watch in agony as his shot rebounded off the far post and D. Raju who after being send clear by Kuttimani, in the 73rd minute found himself boxed as he delayed his shot. To its credit Goa managed to survive the onslaught and push the issue to the extra-time. The extra-time was lively with both teams going all-out in search for the kill. However, it was Karnataka which got the first chance in the 7th minute when a Zico De Souza pile driver hit the under side of the bar and rebounded into the path of Sachin Gauns whose header also brushed the cross piece before going out. In very next minute, Goan goalkeeper Venson Figueredo denied Saravana with a good save. But the resultant flag kick taken by Saravana, sailed over the entire Goan defence and came to an unmarked Udaykumar, who nodded in from close much to the delight of his team-mates.
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