MIDFIELD ACTION: David Ngaihte (right) of Delhi attempts to foil Tamil
Nadu’s L. Charles Ananda Raj in their Group ‘D’ quarterfinal match on
Saturday. Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty
Mizoram twice returned to erase a goal's deficit before
holding last year's semifinalist Railways 2-2 in the opening match of
the Group ‘D' at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday.
Railways
started on a more authoritative note and utilised its territorial
dominance to find the lead off Gurpreet Singh in the 15th minute.
Mizoram, the cluster-VI qualifier, regrouped well to find the equaliser
off a counter-attack in the 40th minute off its midfielder V.
Laltanpuia.
Undaunted by the equaliser Railways kept
on attacking and regained the lead in the injury-time of the first
half. The seasoned P.C. Riju, who won the golden boot (highest scorer)
in the 2009 edition while turning out for his native state of Tamil
Nadu, showed his effectiveness inside the box once again as he finished
with a rasping drive to beat the Mizoram custodian F. Vanlalhruaia all
ends up.
Just as Railways looked to relax on the
lone goal lead in the second half, Mizoram stung back with the equaliser
for the second time. Forward F. Lalrinpuia found the mark from a
goalmouth melee to give Mizoram the equaliser, which the north-eastern
side preserved till the end.
Karthick scores
Super-sub
S. Karthick helped Tamil Nadu manage a late winner to overcome Delh's
challenge 1-0 in another Group D match. The diminutive winger, who was
introduced in the 73rd minute, ended Tamil Nadu's woes by finding the
target soon after entering the field.
Despite playing
more cohesively, Tamil Nadu struggled to find the target. With the
midfield remaining prolific in its creative zone, Tamil Nadu attacked
regularly but struggled to find the mark as Delhi crowded its defence.
Both
A. Reagan and M. Ramesh appeared to run out of ideas against a pack of
Delhi defenders blocking the goalmouth. The few attempts that they
managed were cleared efficiently by Delhi custodian Vikrant Sharma.
Following
a barren first session, Tamil Nadu played with more thrust after the
break but found little success. With the match heading towards a draw,
Tamil Nadu coach Syed Sabir Pasha introduced Karthick in the place of S.
Santa Kumar. The young Indian Bank player, who impressed with his
speedy runs, scored in the 76th minute. Positioning himself well,
Karthick quickly reached a rebound after Sharma, who charged in to save,
blocked an attempt from midfield colleague Dinakaran. Karthick made no
mistake with his angular shot that found the back of the net.
Easy for Services
In the opening Group C match at Cuttack, Services proved its superiority by drubbing the cluster-VII qualifier Haryana 4-0.
Services
found an early goal through Z.B. Horin, but its real offensive came
midway through the second session when Subrata Sarkar doubled the lead
in the 67th minute.
Later, V.V. Fahrid fired home two gals in a span of nine minutes (74th and 85th) to ensure a big win for Services.
In
the other Group C tie, host Odisha made a perfect start, blanking
Chhattisgarh 4-0. Gokul Oram was the star for the host, performing a
hat-trick. Antu Murmu completed the tally for Odisha.
The results:
Group C:
Services 4 (Z.B. Horin 8, V.V. Fahrid 74, 85, Subrata Sarkar 67) bt
Haryana 0; Odisha 4 (Gokul Oram 45+1, 81 & 90, Antu Murmu 66) bt
Chhattisgarh 0.
Group D: Railways 2 (Gurpreet
Singh 15, P.C. Riju 45+2) drew with Mizoram 2 (V. Laltanpuia 40, F.
Lalrinpuia 50); Tamil Nadu 1 (S. Karthick 75) bt Delhi 0.