Date:18/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/18/stories/2003011802701900.htm

Sport - Football

East Bengal in semifinals

By Our Sports Reporter

KOLKATA JAN. 17. Defending champion Kingfisher East Bengal made it to the semifinals of the TVS Fiero 108th IFA Shield, beating local rival DTDC Tollygunge Agragami 2-1 in the concluding Group A league match, at its home ground on Friday.

East Bengal, playing without a few of its regulars owing to injury, shot into lead through forward Trijit Das in the 31st minute.

Agragami restored parity in the 61st getting Manash Das to score from a long-ranger.

The winner for the home team came in the 70th minute as Suley Musah headed home a back-pass by Jiten Rai.

East Bengal topped the group netting six points while Goa's Churchill Brothers took the second spot with five points.

In another match, last of the Ggroup B league fixtures, Mohammedan Sporting was held to a goalless draw by Kolkata Port Trust in a contest marred by latter's supporters.

The barren encounter ended Mohammedan Sporting's semifinal hopes as it was pipped at the post by the Goa visitor Vasco SC, which posted a better goal difference after the two teams were tied on four points.

Tata Football Academy became the group topper netting five points.

Sporting's failure resulted in a crowd trouble as its supporters went on a rampage vandalising the wooden stands and even assaulted the referee Sarat Chandra Singh and the fourth official Jayanta Chakraborty.

With around a minute's action still remaining, the referee stopped the match owing to growing pandemonium in the galleries. The organising committee of the tournament later upheld the result of the match after debating on the referees report after the `abandoned' match.

In the two semifinals slated on Sunday, East Bengal will play Vasco SC while TFA meets Churchill Brothers.