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| Command and Conquer: Oil India players celebrate after winning the 57th Bordoloi Trophy Tournament at Nehru stadium in Guwahati. File picture |
Guwahati/Nagaon, Jan 3 : Former champions Oil India Football Club, Duliajan, will look for a back-to-back title within a week, when they clash with last year’s runners-up Border Security Force, Jalandhar, in the final of the 60th Independence Day Cup football tournament at Nurul Amin Stadium in Nagaon on Saturday.
After having annexed the 57th Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Bordoloi Trophy Tournament title in Guwahati last week, it will be another feather in its cap for Oil India if it clinches a victory against the Jalandhar outfit in the battle of nerves tomorrow.
The match will also be a replay of the 1979 edition of the tournament’s final, in which BSF defeated Oil India.
With defending champions Md Sporting, Calcutta skipping the national-level invitation tournament this time, BSF are the strongest opponents for any state-based teams in the fray. BSF were champions in the tournament in 1979, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2006 and finished runners-up in 1996 and 2007.
However, Oil India will take the field in high spirits after their victory over Assam State Electricity Board SC, Guwahati, in the Bordoloi Trophy on Sunday.
Foreign recruit Stephen Njoh has so far been a striking force in his own right in Nagaon so far. Besides, Bhupen Gogoi, Manas M. Chetia and the seasoned H.L. Routa have also been showing formidable form in the tournament so far. Oil India, who were champions in 1976, 1977, 1994, 2004 and 2005 and runners-up in 1979, 1990, 2002 and 2003, will also start as favourites after having blanked out Burnpur Sporting Club 6-0 in the quarter-finals and Assam State Electricity Board Sports Club, Guwahati, 4-0 in the semi-final. On the other hand, despite enjoying the psychological edge of being last year’s runners-up, the Jalandhar outfit had to struggle hard to book a final berth in the tournament.
First, they clinched a 4-3 victory via tiebreakers against Assam Police Blues, Guwahati, to enter the semi-finals where they faced a stiff challenge from Southern Sporting Union, Imphal, before overcoming the Manipur side via sudden death to make it to the final.
Sarabjit Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and P.B. Ekka will be the men to look out for in the BSF ranks against the well-knit Oil India defence. Altogether 16 teams participated in the tournament this time. Home teams 9 Assam Police Battalion and Radial Club moved out of the tournament in the pre-quarterfinal stage. | 