Monday, Apr 14, 2003
Monday, Apr 14, 2003 |
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Football
By Our Sports Reporter
East Bengal's Mike Okoro (right) celebrates with teammate S. Malswamtulunga after scoring his second goal against Indian Bank in the National Football League match n Kolkata on Sunday.
The 20th round win helped the former champion net 46 points and reach an almost invincible position. With two more rounds to go, East Bengal just needs one point to ensure its second title in the seven-year old history of the tournament. The local giant was on the verge of creating another landmark remaining unbeaten till the 18th round but two consecutive `away' losses — against JCT Mills (0-2) and Mahindra United (0-2) — soured its dreams while keeping the contest in the tournament remained alive. The Goa giant Vasco SC fashioned a late season revival and worked its way up with a string of victories to be within six points of the topper. Interestingly East Bengal hosts Vasco in the next match, which would in all probability decide the fate of the tournament. The home team has an easier task of just playing a draw to secure the title while the Goan visitor is in a must-win situation if it hopes to preserve its title dreams till the last round. In the match against Indian Bank, East Bengal was helped all the way as the visiting bankmen could hardly provide any resistance. The host, which was held 3-3 playing its away match against the same team in the first phase, led 1-0 in the first session seeing its Nigerian striker Mike Okoro breach the crowded defence of Indian Bank in the 14th minute with a brilliant finish. The initial quarter of the first session saw some parity in the exchanges as the bankmen tried moves into the opponent box. The visitor, however, failed to find the target in the absence of a good striker as the opposition defence was alert enough to thwart any aggression well ahead of the striking zone. On the other hand, the host scored in both tactics and application, finding the net on three occasions. The second session saw East Bengal continue its attacks helped by the presence of another quality foreign recruit, Brazilian Douglas Da Silva. Da Silva and Okoro performed their tasks commendably and made all the difference to the match. Da Silva, functioning primarily as a defencive midfielder, used his size and ball-control abilities to a good measure in intercepting the opponents before providing for the attacks. Okoro also did his bit as the finisher succeeding in two out of the three opportunities he got in the match. The second goal came from a set-piece situation as Da Sliva scored from a direct free-kick in the 53rd minute. As the match wore on into a completely one-sided affair, Okoro scored his 16th goal of the tournament off a brilliant cross from hardworking S. Malswamtulunga in the 85th minute to complete the scoring for East Bengal. The Nigerian was later declared the ONGC man-of-the-match for his contribution.
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