Date:14/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/14/stories/2009011461112200.htm

Sport - Football

Match drawn

Chennai: Madras Sporting Union drew 1-1 with State Bank of India in a St. Joseph’s-CFA Senior Division football match here on Tuesday.

MSU’s goal came in the tenth minute, when striker P.C. Riju peeled out to the right and pulled the ball back for midfielder Zothansanga, who, after entering the box with his first touch, had his shot parried by SBI keeper K. Sharath and cleared. It went as far as S.B. Pradeepkumar, who controlled it on the edge of the box and placed a half-volley into the far corner.

Riju and Zothansanga combined again soon after, from a similar position. This time, Riju’s shot was blocked by the feet of the prone keeper.

The equaliser

Fifteen minutes into the second half, SBI equalised. Left midfielder U. Jimshad, receiving the ball on the halfway line from an MSU goal kick, carried the ball into the MSU final third, and sent in a low cross. R. Prakash got hold of the ball just outside the six-yard-box and beat the keeper.

A few minutes later, MSU left winger M. Kuppuraj got to the byline and screamed the ball across the face of goal with his left foot. Both Riju, at the near post, and Ghanaian strike partner Amoafo, at the far post, were a fraction of a second late in getting to the cross.

Man-of-the-match Jimshad then had a penalty appeal turned down after he went down close to the goal line.

Hat-trick by Deepak

Deepak returned figures of six for eight, including a hat-trick, to bowl Kanniah Cricket Academy to a 10-wicket win over Gee Gee Academy in an under-14 cricket match of the Sanga Trophy tournament, conducted by the Asiatic Cricket Academy.

The scores: Under-14: Asiatic ‘A’ 155 for four in 30 overs (N.R.S. Sudarshan 63, V. Akash 32, M.R. Chandrasekaran three for 31) bt Asiatic ‘B’ 94 for seven in 30 overs (K.H. Guruprasad 39, N.R.S. Sudarshan three for seven).

Gee Gee Academy 23 in 12 overs (Deepak six for eight) lost to Kanniah Cricket Academy 24 for no loss in 1.5 overs. Under-10: Asiatic ‘A’ 87 for eight in 19 overs (Lakshmikanth 26 n.o., Harish three for 20) lost to Asiatic ‘B’ 91 for four in 22 overs (Harish 27 n.o.).

Prahalad Cricket Academy 136 for nine in 25 overs (C. Saiprasad 26, P. Vidyuth 29, Sudarshan three for 19) bt Kedar Cricket Academy 70 for nine in 25 overs (P. Vidyuth three for 13).

SDAT competitions

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) will hold competitions on January 20 to pick the Chennai teams for the forthcoming State Games. The competitions are open for all age groups.

For details, call the District Sports Officer T. Chandrasekaran at 26644794.

The events will be held at the following venues: Swimming: Shenoy Nagar pool; Football: JN Stadium; Basketball: JN indoor Stadium; Athletics: JN Stadium; Hockey: Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium; Volleyball: Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.