8.SAF Games - Men's Football Tournament - Kathmandu, Nepal

AIFF names probables for SAF Games:
August 8: The AIFF announced the list of 31 probables for the forthcoming SAF Games, to be held in Kathmandu from September 25 to October 4. The probables have been asked to attend a coaching-cum-selection camp, to be held at the SAI Southern Centre in Bangalore from Sep5, an AIFF Press release here said. Sukhwinder Singh would be the chief coach and he would be assited by AM Sreedharan and B Shankwalkar (goalkeeping coach).
Indian Probables: GK: Kalyan Chaubey (Bengal Mumbai FC), Prasanta Dora (East Bengal), Dinesh Nair (FC Kochin), Virender Singh (Mahindras). Defenders: Ranjan Dey (East Bengal), KV Dhanesh (FC Kochin), Falguni Dutta (East Bengal), Robert Fernandes (Salgaocar), AS Firoze (FC Kochin), Debjit Ghosh (Mohun Bagan), Deepak Mondal (JCT), Suresh Muttiah (Kerala), Lorendra Singh (Mohun Bagan), Prabhjot Singh (JCT), Midfielders: Roque Barreto (Churchill Brothers), Mahesh Gawli (FC Kochin), Anit Ghosh (East Bengal), Basudeb Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Noel Wilson (FC Kochin), James Singh (Mohun Bagan), Rennedy Singh (East Bengal), Hardip Singh Sangha (JCT), S Venkatesh (Salgaocar), Forwards: Dipendu Biswas (Mohun Bagan), Bruno Coutinho (Salgaocar), Alvito D'Cunha (Salgaocar), Mohammed Najeeb (Mahindras), Sheikh Sanjib (East Bengal), Bijen Singh (East Bengal), Surjit Singh (JCT), IM Vijayan (FC Kochin). Coach: Sukhwinder Singh (JCT). Assistant Coach: AM Sreedharan. Goalkeeping Coach: Brahmanand Shankwalkar.

Ancheri skipper:
September 16: Jo Paul Ancheri will lead the Indian Football team in the SAF Games beginning in Kathmandu on September 24.
Indian Team: GK: Kalyan Chaubey (Bengal Mumbai FC), Prasanta Dora (East Bengal), Virender Singh (Mahindras). Defenders: Ranjan Dey (East Bengal), KV Dhanesh (FC Kochin), Robert Fernandes (Salgaocar), Deepak Mondal (JCT), Prabhjot Singh (JCT), Daljit Singh (JCT Mills), Midfielders: Mahesh Gawli (FC Kochin), Basudeb Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Noel Wilson (FC Kochin), Hardip Singh Sangha (JCT), Jules Alberto (Salgaocar), Forwards: Syed Shabir Pasha (Indian Bank), Bruno Coutinho (Salgaocar), Mohammed Najeeb (Mahindras), Raman Vijayan (East Bengal), Jo Paul Ancheri (FC Kochin), IM Vijayan (FC Kochin). Coach: Sukhwinder Singh (JCT). Assistant Coach: AM Sreedharan. Goalkeeping Coach: Brahmanand Shankwalkar.

GROUP A
TEAM P W D L GF:GA PTS
1. India 3 3 0 0 12:02 9
2. Nepal 3 2 0 1 10:05 6
3. Pakistan 3 0 0 2 03:08 0
4. Bhutan 3 0 0 2 00:10 0
India & Nepal qualify for the semifinals.
26-Sep-99 Kathmandu India  vs  Pakistan
5:2
26-Sep-99 Kathmandu Nepal  vs  Bhutan
7:0
28-Sep-99 Kathmandu India  vs  Bhutan
3:0
28-Sep-99 Kathmandu Nepal  vs  Pakistan
3:1
30-Sep-99 Kathmandu India  vs  Nepal
4:0
30-Sep-99 Kathmandu Bhutan  vs  Pakistan
_:_
September 26 - Group A: India 5-2 Pakistan - goals: 1:0 Jules Alberto (7'), 2:0 Syed Shabir Pasha (11'), 3:0,4:0,5:0 IM Vijayan (52',61',72'), 5:1 Haroon Yossaf (80'), 5:2 Gohar Zaman (90').
Defending champions India rode on a brilliant hattrick by star striker IM Vijayan as they capitalised on a weak defence to rout Pakistan 5-2 in a group A league match of the SAF Games Football Championship. Vijayan struck three goals in quick succession in the 2nd half to complete his hattrick while Jules Alberto and Shabir Pasha scored a goal each in a rather one-sided contest at the floodlit Dashrath Stadium here. Pakistan captain Haroon Yossaf converted a penalty late in the 2nd half while Gohar Zaman scored the last goal in injury time.
September 28 - Group A: India 3-0 Bhutan - goals: 1:0, 2:0, 3:0 IM Vijayan (1',7',49').
IM Vijayan's magnificent scoring touch enabled India to pull past Bhutan and enter the semifinal of the SAF Games football competition. Vijayan, who scored a hattrick in India's first match against Pakistan on Monday, repeated the feat today as his team scored a 3-0 win and took their points tally to four from two matches. In an overall Indian performance that was far from impressive, Vijayan's effort stood out. The former Indian captain started his scoring spree straight after kick- off, netting the first goal after just 12 seconds for one of the fastest goals ever. There was no stopping Vijayan again in the 7.minute and before Bhutan could settle down, they were behind by two goals. But in between the goals, the Indian play was very much patchy. They could not piece together any fluent moves and were often beaten to the ball by the quicker Bhutanese. Vijayan, despite his goals, looked uninterested and lost at times. But that was true to his self and style. And when the opportunity came his way, the striker sprung to the act with deadly effect, in the 49.minute. Jules Alberto found Najeeb on the left and the forward produced a clever cross that had the Bhutan goalkeeper Tshering Chhopel in two minds. As he advanced, Vijayan put his head in between the goalkeepers hand's and guided the ball in for his second hattrick in a row.

September 30 - Group A: India 4-0 Nepal - Goals: 1:0,3:0 Jules Alberto (4',44'), 2:0 Hardip Sangha (30'), 4:0 Mohammed Najeeb (50').
Pegging back the Nepal thrust from the very beginning, India carved out a 4-0 win to conclude their league engagements of the SAF Games soccer tournament with an all-win record at the Dasharath Stadium. India, who failed to impress in their 3-0 win over Bhutan the other day, got their act together today in the final Group A match. Nepal, bubbling with enthusiasm after their successive wins over Bhutan and Pakistan were stung by the sudden Indian spurts. The only point of interest in the match was who will top the group, with both Nepal and India having ensured last four lots. As it turned out, India, with six points, finished ahead and will meet Bangladesh in the semifinal, after a day`s rest. In the second semifinal, Nepal will clash with Maldives. The match was just four minutes old when India went ahead, a set-piece situation proving just right for Jules Alberto. Basudev Mondal`s corner was headed in superbly by Alberto, giving no chance to goalkeeper Upendra Mansingh. Nepal's Hari Khadka upfront was a constant thorn and needed close attention. But despite Nepal's attack, it was India who broke through again. Vijayan dribbling through, pushed the ball sideways to Hardip Sangha, who tapped it in. That was in the 30.minute and a few seconds from half-time, India were up 3-0. Vijayan's high cross from the right falling behind the defenders. Jules did the needful. Five minutes into the second half, Najeeb scored India`s fourth goal.

October 2 - Semifinal: India 0-1 Bangladesh - Goal: 0:1 Md Shajuddin Tipu (65').
By not being assertive enough from the very beginning, India gave Bangladesh hope. From hope was born confidence and thriving on that, Bangladesh scripted a memorable 1-0 triumph to enter the football final of the SAF Games. At the Dasharath Stadium today, India presented a pathetic picture of unrealised potential. On a pitch drenched by mid-afternoon showers, they were tentative for most part, groping for ideas against a side that went from strength to strength. And came the 65.minute, substitute Md Shajuddin Tipu produced evidence of the rise of the Bangladesh game with a stunning 25-yard right-footer that gave no chance to Indian goalkeeper Virender Singh. In a game where defenders of either side had a big say, that one goal carried the value of a dozen.

October 4 - 3rd Place: India 3-1 Maldives - Goals: 0:1 AG Mausam (6'), 1:1 IM Vijayan (16'), 2:1 Syed Shabir Pasha, 3:1 Raman Vijayan.
India warded off a spirited Maldives challenge to carve out a 3-1 win and claim the soccer bronze at the SAF Games. Shabir Pasha and Raman Vijayan struck a goal each in the last four minutes of the game to save the day for the Indians. AG Mausam put the Maldives ahead in the 6.minute but India restored parity 10 minutes later through mercurial striker IM Vijayan.

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Thanks for match reports to Rajiv Kolassari
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