Football fever in chilly Kashmir
Srinagar, January 5
There was bone-chilling cold. Then there was a Real Kashmir outfit used to such extreme conditions but Mohun Bagan got the better of both to win their I-League match 2-0 here today.
Indian Arrows, NEROCA share spoils in 1-1 draw
Vasco: All India Football Federation’s developmental side Indian Arrows played out a 1-1 draw with NEROCA FC in the I-League here today. Sushil Meitei gave the visitors the lead in the 24th minute before Vikram Partap Singh equalised for the hosts three minutes before end of the first-half. The first real opening of the match fell to the Arrows in the 15th minute. PTI
After a barren first-half, Joseba Beitia (71st minute) and Nongdamba Naorem (73rd) scored for the Kolkata giants in a span of two minutes to shatter the hopes of home fans.
It was a chilly morning, with the temperature dipping to 1 degree Celsius, but 11,500 Kashmiri spectators still enthusiastically watched the game against one of India’s biggest and oldest clubs. For tickets there was mayhem, they queued up since 9 o’clock in the morning and many still could not make it to the ground. Such was the craze.
The green and maroons had the lion’s share of possession and more shots on target but the home side had more attempts and five more corners in a game which could have gone either way.
We played a good game. We lost our focus for five minutes against a team like Mohun Bagan and they capitalised on it. It’s just these fine margins of football. I am just disappointed
David Robertson, Real Kashmir coach
Mohun Bagan coach Kibu Vicuna started with newly-signed Senegalese striker Baba Diawara and brought in Dhanachandra Singh in the backline. Whereas, Scotsman David Robertson, the RKFC coach, preferred the same starting XI that won against reigning champions Chennai City in the previous game. The visitors were strong from the get-go and notched up as many as three corners in the space of first six minutes. Talented winger Nongdamba Naorem had his first chance of the game, in the 22nd minute, but his left-footer from inside the Kashmir box failed to cause any problem
Today we played good football, and coped with the difficulties of conditions. We won against a tough opponent, but it was not out best match. Real Kashmir were going with their set piece
Kibu Vicuna, Mohun Bagan coach
Both sides had goldenchances to score but the first-half remained deprived of goals.
However, in the second-half, the home side had better scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes but it was Bagan’s Beitia who spoiled the mood of the Valley’s onlookers by unleashing a right-footed jab to take Bagan 1-0 ahead in the 71st minute — a move which started off from long Dhanachandra Singh throw. Then, a couple of minutes later winger Naorem blasted a volley past Snow Leopards’ custodian Phurba Lachenpa to stretch the lead further to 2-0. — PTI
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