27. February
Here a report from the oHerald Newspaper from Goa on the Goan derby post match bust-up yesterday:
Salgaocar Sports Club president Shivanand Salgaocar demanded "strictest possible action" against Churchill Bros striker Yakubu Yusif, after the Ghanaian allegedly assaulted Salgaocar keeper Kalyan Chaubey, 25 minutes after the bitter encounter had ended. At Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Mr Salgaocar initially threatened not to play the remainder of their National League encounters, but when contacted at his residence, Mr Salgaocar had cooled down. "Its not as serious as that (pull-out)," Mr Salgaocar told Herald. "But yes, we are demanding the strictest possible action against Yakubu from the AIFF. Assaulting our player after the match has ended tantamounts to gross indiscipline and should not be pardoned. It (assault) was pre-mediated and I do not think the Churchill Bros management would approve of this," he added. Mr Salgaocar said safety of his players was of paramount importance and there were no two ways about it. Salgaocar secretary Henry Britto, on the otherhand described the alleged assault as vandalism. "I have never seen something like this before," he told newspersons after the encounter.
The Yakubu-Chaubey fracas started at the fag end of the match when Yakubu roughly tackled Salgaocar skipper Covan Lawrence, prompting referee Walter Pereira to flash the yellow at the Ghanaian. Team sources said, Salgaocar players insisted the offence merited a red card. "Yakubu and Chaubey were engaged in a war of words on the ground itself," one player said. Salgaocar coach Savio Madeira told Herald Chaubey insisted Yakubu had fired badwords at him while Yakubu reiterated that Chaubey also used filthy language, something that Yakubu could not take lying down. After the referee blew his whistle to signal end of play, Yakubu and Chaubey almost came to blows until they were separated by rival camps. But 25 minutes after the encounter Yakubu, allegedly, raced to the Salgaocar camp and allegedly assaulted Chaubey, before being separated by his Ghanaian teammates - Edward Ansah, Osumanu Husseini - so also Salgaocar's Liberian Sunday Seah.

26. February
7th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 2-2 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 0-1 Benjamin Ansah (28'), 1-1 Sunday Seah (66'), 1-2 Yakubu Yusif (67'), 2-2 Sebastiao Endro (73').
In a match that saw fortunes fluctuating and tempers rise very high, Salgaocar twice came back from behind to hold Churchill Brothers 2-2 in a charged-up National League encounter, at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. The fiercely-contested encounter saw Churchill Bros twice surrender the lead. At first in the 28.minute when Benjamin Ansah's free-kick sailed into the nylons and later when Ghanaian sharpshooter Yakubu Yusif (67.) converted from the spot to put his team ahead. Salgaocar relied on the opportunism of Liberian Sunday Seah (66.) and substitute Sebastiao Endro (73.) to level scores. On the field, the match was fiercely-competed with Churchill Bros enjoying the edge, both in terms of ball possession and incisiveness. That they did not convert their technical superiority into goals, is another story.
"Something is better than nothing," Salgaocar coach Savio Madeira told reporters after the match. "Constant travelling has taken a toll on the players. We had our own chances to seal the match but overall, it was not a typical Salgaocar performance," the coach added.
Churchill Bros coach Marcus Pacheco refused to speak to presspersons, apparently angered and fuming at Salgaocar's equaliser, wherein Salgaocar striker Sunday Seah looked suspiciously offside before collecting a ball from the centre and relaying it to Sebastiao Endro, to score the equaliser. Churchill Bros showed marked improvement. And they had the imaginative play of unheralded Nascimento Silveira - in the midfield - to thank. Pacheco showed great faith in the talented medio and he seemed to be absolutely spot on with his belief. Like, Madeira later told reporters, Salgaocar appeared weary and disjointed at times. But they had their own chances to put the matter beyond Churchill's reach. But the perennial finishing problems returned to haunt them.
In the 28.minute, Ghanaian Benjamin Ansah gave Churchill the perfect lead when he brilliantly curled a free-kick past Kalyan Chaubey into the nylons. Minutes later, they had chances to kill the match but Rocky Baretto, Yakubu Yusif and Zaheer Abbas all went very close with long rangers. Once, Kalyan Chaubey rose to the ocassion to deny Benjamin Ansah, what looked like a sure-shot goal. After the change of ends, Salgaocar looked a transformed lot. And the transformation was a result of a double-substitution - striker Sebastiao Endro taking the field for Samson Singh while Manitombi Singh made way for the enterprising Jose Esteves. After Jatin Singh Bisht's free-kick kissed the sidepost and rebounded back into play, Liberian Sunday Seah scored an opportunistic goal in the 66.minute to level scores. However, Salgaocar's joy was shortlived as Yakubu Yusif converted a spot kick in the very next minute to again put Churchill Bros ahead. Referee Walter Pereira (WIFA) awarded the spot kick after Rocky Baretto was brought down by Salgaocar's Nigerian winger Bello Rasaq, inside the danger zone. Salgaocar's equaliser came in the 73.minute. Sunday Seah - looking suspiciously off-side - collected a long ball from Roberto Fernandes worked his way down the right flank and essayed the ball into the Churchill goalmouth where Sebastiao Endro darted from nowhere to direct the ball into the nylons.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey, Manitombi Singh (Jose Esteves), Covan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Tomba Singh (Denis Cabral), Jatin Singh Bisht, Climax Lawrence, Dharamjit Singh, Sunday Seah, Samson Singh (Sebastiao Endro).
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Rajesh Meetei, Mahesh Gawli, Noel Wilson, Mir Farooq Hyder (Danzie Ferrao), Aqueel Ansari (Zaheer Abbas), Nascimento Silveira, Ratan Singh (Sameer Naik), Yakubu Yusif, Benjamin Ansah.

7th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 3-0 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 1-0 Hardip Singh Saini (1'), 2-0 Jaswinder Singh (49'), 3-0 Kwabena Yeboah (79').
JCT Mills trashed Indian Telephone Industries 3-0 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana; to bring the Telephonemen even closer to relegation from the National League. JCT made the best possible start, scoring in the very first minute as Jo Paul Ancheri played a parallel pass to Hardip Singh Saini whose shot went into the net past ITI keeper Gumpe Rime. JCT kept up the pressure on ITI but couldn't get the wanted results. That changed after the lemon break, as Jaswinder Singh doubled the lead wit a powerful shot in the 48.minute. In the 79.minute Jo Paul Ancheri set-up another goal, this time for Ghanian striker Kwabena Yeboah, whose grounder once again beat Gumpe Rime. JCT quietly have been moving up the table, now already fourth with 27 pts, just a point behind Salgaocar and Vasco, a possible second place finish, which no one would have thought off from this JCT team but the addition of the strong foreigners plus a impressive Jo Paul Ancheri not bothered by injury, are taking JCT back to old glory, close to the top of the NFL. Meanwhile ITI should not think of staying in the NFL, as they now trail 9th Mahindra and 10th Indian Bank with 13 pts, with just six matches remaining and still not having won a match. It seems like ITI are setting the same records as East Bengal but on the other side of the league table.

7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 3-3 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 0-1,3-2 Kenneth Onu (32',78'), 1-1 Srikanta Datta (33'), 2-1 Moses Owira (57'), 3-1 Sujoy Datta (75'), 3-3 Satish Kumar (80').
Tollygunge Agragami controlled most of the match against Hindustan Aeronautics Limited but late complacency cost them the victory to only get a 3-3 draw in a National League match at a near empty Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. HALs Nigerian Kenneth Onu broke the deadlock in the 32.minute but it took Tollygunge only a minute to equal honours, midfielder Srikanta Datta scoring. In the second half Tollygunge increased its efforts and they were rewarded. First Kenyan Moses Owira shot Tollygunge in the 57.minute into the lead, while in the 75.minute midfielder Sujoy Datta added a third for Tolly. The match seemed decided but HALs Kenneth Onu, later declared man of the match, had something against it. In the 78.minute Onu himself reduced the margin, while only two minutes later substitute Satish Kumar equalised for the Aircraftmen, after receiving a pass from Onu. HAL then lost defender S Paramesh three minutes from time for a second bookable offence.
TOLLYGUNGE: Arindam Ghosh, Amitava Chanda, Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmal (Sujit Neogi), Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hussain (Uttam Debnath), Sandip Das, Sujoy Datta, Moses Owira, Srikanta Dutta, Ashim Biswas.
HAL: Subhash Kumar, Santosh Kiran, S Parmesh, Dayanand, Gift Rai Khan, Rajendra Prasad, Mehraj Din Wadoo, Kenneth Onu, Mahendra Mani (Jagadish Kumar, Satish Kumar), Prahlad Singh Rawat (Xavier Vijayakumar), Raja Baliev Nurlan.

25. February
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 2-1 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 1-0 Alvito D'Cunha (11'), 1-1 Jose Barreto (54'), 2-1 Mike Okoro (73').
East Bengal are cruising towards the National League title, as even city rivals and defending champions Mohun Bagan could not stop the red-gold brigade, East Bengal winning 2-1 at the well attended Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. The cricket mania in India seemed to have no affect on Calcutta today, as football was the sport of the day, in India's most sports crazy city. It was East Bengal's 12th win in 16 matches today and even more credit goes to the team, as they remain unbeaten in the league. Today's match was mainly controlled by East Bengal, who took an early lead in the 11.minute, when Mike Okoro broke free on the right; crossed the ball to Venkatesh in the box, who played the ball on to Alvito D'Cunha, who made no mistake and scored. East Bengal then created numerous chances but couldn't score of them. Then Bagan's Brazilian Jose Barreto equalised nine minutes into the second-half with a left-footer after receiving a pass from George Ekeh but that was all of Bagan, as Barreto was often left alone by his teammates. Then came the winner from the leagues leading goalscorer, Nigerian Mike Okoro, who received a cross from Sasthi Duley in the 73.minute to score a diving header, his 14th goal. While Bagan fans left the ground quite early not believing that their team could still equalise or even win the match, East Bengal fans were celebrating the victory as if it was the league title. But that is now only a matter of time, as it is not a distant dream for the fans that East Bengal could win the league before the break in March. Credit once again goes to coach Subhas Bhowmick and his boys.
EAST BENGAL: Sangram Mukherjee (Sandip Nandy), Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Suley Musah, Deepak Mondal, M Suresh, Sasthi Duley, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Chandan Das (Malswam Tulunga), Douglas da Silva, Alvito D'Cunha (Subhas Chakraborty), Mike Okoro.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Yakubu Mallam, Satish Bharati, Lolendro Singh, Basudeb Mondal (Jayanta Sen), Jose Barreto, Ranjan Dey (Sunil Chettri), Renedy Singh, George Ekeh, Baichung Bhutia.

7th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 2-0 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0 Ednei Jose Damasio (8'), 2-0 Mongba Aby Samson (53').
Mahindra United scored an important 2-0 victory against Dempo, scoring once in each half in a National League match at the Cooperage, Mumbai. Mahindra were awarded a penalty in the 8.minute when their captain and Indian international Debjit Ghosh was brought down by Dempo defender Ratan Singh inside the box. Brazilian striker Ednei Jose Damasio made no mistake to score his eighth goal in eight matches. Mahindra doubled the lead eight minutes into the second hald, when winger Mongba Aby Samson from the Ivory Coast headed home a cross from medio James Singh.

7th National League - Chennai: Indian Bank 1-4 Vasco SC - Goals: 0-1 Satish Minz (31'), 0-2 Riston Rodrigues (55'), 1-2 Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (56'), 1-3 Agnelo Colaco (84'), 1-4 Marcos Pereira (90+').
Indian Bank suffered a crushing 1-4 home defeat against Vasco in a National League match at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Vasco midfielder Satish Minz the opened the scoring from close range in the 31.minute, after Brazilian striker Marcos Pereira had taken a freekick. Riston Rodrigues doubled the lead for Vasco ten minutes into the second half, following a defensive mistake by the Bankmen. The next minute the Bankmen reduced the margin as defender Selwyn Fernandes tripped Bankmen striker Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya, who himself took the spot kick. Now the Bankmen worked hard to get the equaliser and got a golden oppurtunity through another penalty, when Vasco keeper Rogerio Ramos tripped Stanley Festus. But this time Sri Lankan striker Jayasuriya's shot was saved by Ramos. While the Bankmen attacked further but with no success, Vasco's counter-attacks were much more fruitless, as Agnelo Colaco in the 84.minute and Marcos Pereira in injury time gave Vasco an impressive victory.

24. February
Tomorrow Calcutta will be all about football! India's oldest and most famous football rivalry between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will once again take centrestage, this time in the National League. But the outset for both teams are different. While East Bengal are still unbeaten after 15 matches in National League and marching towards their second NFL title; defending champions Mohun Bagan are 11 points their rivals, fighting hard to finish second and are rather playing for honour against their archrivals.
Unlike earlier matches, both coaches are not putting too much pressure on their teams, as they have realised that derby matches have their own rules, which cannot be influenced.
The match will also put the best strikers against each other. While East Bengal will be looking towards Mike Okoro and Alvito D'Cunha to score, Bagan will depend on their costly trio of Baichung Bhutia, Jose Barreto and George Ekeh.
For India captain Baichung Bhutia the match against his former club will be very very important, as Bagan look to him to score and he himself needs it even more to resurrect his career, injury-prone lately, to get offers from outside India. Baichung said, "It's very important for me, what else can I say."

23. February
Jaydeep Basu has written an interesting article about the unhappiness of the AIFF with the NFL coverage by Doordarshan.
Frustrated By the poor coverage of National League by the official electronic media, the AIFF is ready to forego 30 per cent of the revenue earned from it and go for a change in the telecasting rights. According to sources, the AIFF has been talking to different private television channels for the past few months in an effort to sell the NFL from the next season onwards, but are yet to find a willing buyer. The federation, at the moment, has an annual telecasting rights contract of around Rs. 7.5 crore with Doordarshan, but it is ready to accept a bid much lower than this amount.
When asked, a senior official of the AIFF said: "In general, we are not at all satisfied with the coverage of the NFL by the Doordarshan. While they do not ensure the live coverage of the matches at some centres despite repeated requests, their scheduling of matches is also well below the expectations. The biggest problem is that DD hardly makes any advance publicity of the matches they cover. So, most of the football fans don't get to know when the matches will be shown on TV," he said.
"While there is no denying that the money we receive from the telecasting rights is a big help towards running the expenses of the federation, we are also perturbed by the fact that it is hardly helping in promoting the game and the interest of the sponsors," the official added. br>The AIFF is also relieved that the current sponsors of the NFL, Oil-PSU, are not putting too much pressure for an improved coverage of the National League. "Had the sponsors been a consumer product company, we would have been a real trouble," the official admitted.
"Our first sponsors, during the inaugural NFL in 1997, gave us very little money, but were extremely particular about the television coverage. In fact, our failure to ensure live coverage of the matches was one of the reasons behind their pulling out of the NFL."
But at the end, the fact remains that the AIFF, in spite of their best efforts, has failed to find an alternative to Doordarshan for a past couple of years. There is no reason to believe that there could any dramatic change in their fortunes in near future.

22. February
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 1-0 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 1-0 Mike Okoro (11').
National League leaders East Bengal beat bottom of the table Indian Telephone Industries 1-0 at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. East Bengal missed numerous chances but also allowed ITI to have some chances to score, even a penalty, but came away as winners, as Nigerian Mike Okoro, who was with ITI last season, scored his 13th goal of the NFL campaign. East Bengal scored the winner in the 11.minute, when a Surya Bikash Chakraborty cross was headed-on by Kalia Kulothungan from the near post to the far end, where an unmarked Okoro scored the winner. While East Bengal are marching towards the title, ITI can slowly start planning for next seasons 2.Division.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy (Sangram Mukherjee), Surya Bikash Chakraborty, Deepak Mondal, M Suresh, Sasthi Duley, Chandan Das, Malswam Tulunga, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Alvito D'Cunha (Subhash Chakraborty), Mike Okoro, Kalia Kulothungan.
ITI: Gumpe Rime, Sunil Kumar, AS Firoze, Seth Osei (Jiten Rai, J Muralidharan), Akshay Das, Raghuveer Singh, KV Dhanesh, Mohammed Najeeb, James Singh, Jude Nwadu, Ibrahim Karim Alhasan (Niyaz Rahaman).

7th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 2-1 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 1-0 Hardip Singh Saini (21'), 2-0 Jo Paul Ancheri (?'), 2-1 Yakubu Yusif (76').
JCT Mills good run lately in the National League continued with a 2-1 victory against Churchill Brothers at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. JCT opened the scoring in the 21.minute through a spectacular goal from Hardip Singh Saini. Churchill keeper Erward Ansah took a goalkick, which reached the halfline but Saini got to the ball and loobed it over Ansah into the goal. Jo Paul Ancheri scored of a penalty for JCT, after Noel Wilson had handled the ball in the penalty area. Churchill Brothers now went all out to try and draw the match but where only able to reduce the margin. Ghanian Yakubu Yusif powerful shot was stopped by Pawan Kumar with his hands in the 76.minute. Yusif scored of the resultant penalty-kick.

7th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 0-3 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 0-1 Climax Lawrence (6'), 0-2 Sunday Seah (19'), 0-3 Dharamjit Singh (40').
Salgaocar inflicted more misery on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with a 3-0 victory in a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Salgaocar took an early lead in the 6.minute, when Climax Lawrence scored of a penalty. HAL keeper Mark Mascarenhas had brought down Samson Singh. Liberian Sunday Seah doubled the lead for the Goans in the 19.minute, when he headed in a cross by Jatin Singh Bisht. Dharamjit Singh rounded-off the tally with a solo run in the 40.minute, when he beat HAL defender Mehraj Din Wadoo and then also the keeper.

21. February
7th National League - Goa: Dempo SC 0-0 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: none.
Defending champions Mohun Bagan's campaign suffered yet another setback today as they were held to a goalless draw by Dempo in the National League, at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. Mohun Bagan rested star striker Bhaichung Bhutia for the Dempo clash, a decision that seemed to have provided little comfort to coach Subrata Bhattacharya. Bagan created a number of chances but minus-Bhutia, Bagan lacked the incisiveness, even though Nigrian striker George Ekeh had returned after a one-match suspension. The Bagan camp suggested Bhutia was rested for the all important clash against archrivals East Bengal, at Kolkata, on Tuesday February 25. But the Kolkata giants definitely missed a rare opportunity to collect full points in Goa. In the first session of play, former India captain Basudeb Mondal missed three clear-cut chances while Brazilian Jose Baretto muffed two in the next. In-between, Nigerian George Ekeh, Sunil Chetri and Renedy Singh, all went close. While the visitors dominated most of the match and created a number of scoring opportunities, it was Dempo - who had just one point from the past four matches - which nearly stole the points in the dying minutes of the match. A blistering free kick from just outside the penalty box by substitute Wilton Gomes in the last action of the match whizzed by Bagan goalkeeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar and smacked the left post. Earlier, Stanley Colaco misdirected his header with no one challenging him. Bagan had a number of good chances to open the score with the latest coming in the 83.minute when Lolendro Singh took a pass from Renedy Singh and blasted it towards the visitor's goal, only to have Dempo goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal punch the ball away. A draw was certainly not an outcome anyone would have predicted as Bagan and Dempo both started the match at a breakneck pace. Basudeb Mondal was denied twice by the bar inside the first fifteen minutes and the match was 20 minutes old before Baretto had a shot on goal, but the goalkeeper proving equal to the task.
DEMPO: Abhijit Mondal, Melwyn Rodrigues, Dominic Noronha, Stanley Colaco, Ratan Singh (Wilton Gomes), Lazarus Fernandes, Mario Soares, Jose Luciano, Jose Colaco, Bijen Singh (Johnny D'Cruz), EB Channa.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Yakubu, Satish Bharti, Lolendro Singh, Basudeb Mondal, Jose Baretto, Kajol Bhattacharya, Renedy Singh, George Ekeh, Sunil Chetri (Jayanta Sen).

7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 1-1 Vasco SC - Goals: 0-1 Marcos Pereira (20'), 1-1 Akeem Abul Alem (49').
Calcutta minows Tollygunge Agragami continued their good run in the National League with a 1-1 draw against Goan side Vasco at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Vasco took the lead in the 20.minute, when Brazilian Marcos Pereira volleyed home. Tollygunge equalised through a penalty by Nigerian Akeem Abul Alem four minutes in the second half, after a Sandip Das shot had hit Selwyn Fernandes hand. Vasco had more of the game, had chances to win but a strong performance by Tollygunge's on-loan keeper Arindam Ghosh denied the Goans.
TOLLYGUNGE: Arindam Ghosh, Amitava Chanda, Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmal, Dipayan Majumdar, Uttam Debnath (Mehtab Hossain), Sandip Das, Moses Owira, Sujoy Dutta (Srikanta Dutta), Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Seby Dias, Selwyn Fernandes, Franky Barreto, Agnelo Colaco, Jules Alberto (Agnelo Gomes), Menino Fernandes (Santa Singh), Riston Rodrigues, Satish Minz (Anthony Fernandes), Rui Wanderley, Marcos Pereira.

7th National League - Mumbai: Mahindra United 1-2 Indian Bank - Goals: 0-1 VK Harish (12'), 1-1 Ednei Jose Damasio (32'), 1-2 Stanley Festus (60').
Mahindra lost further ground in the National League with a 1-2 defeat against Indian Bank at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. Indian Bank midfielder VK Harish opened the scoring in the 12.minute to shock the Jeepmen. Mahindra equalised 20 minutes later, when Brazilian Ednei Jose Damasio beat Bank keeper Sebastian Netto to equalise, who else but the Brazilian, who has now scored seven goals in seven matches. Indian Bank's Nigerian Stanley Festus scored the winner on the hour mark, leaving Mahindra stunned. Ednei Jose Damasio tried his best to get the equaliser for his club but he was denied by Netto, who had a good match in goal.
Mahindra can surely be described as the disaapointment of this NFL, as before the start Mahindra had hoped to win the NFL title at long last but a poor campaign has left the Czech coach Stromsik sacked and the management readjusting the aim of the club for the league, now trying to finish in the top six but after today's defeat, even that seems difficult, with Mahindra stuck in 10th position.

20. February
Might India in the end take part in the SAF Games next month in Pakistan?
At least the Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi is working towards that, though the government has clearly stated that it will not grant any permission for an Indian contingent to go to Islamabad due to terrorist threats and the problems in bilateral relations between Indian and Pakistan.
The Pakistan Olympic Association has meanwhile extended the date of entry by name for the Indian contingent in view of the fact that the IOA was still trying to convince the Government to allow the Indian contingent to participate in the SAF Games but the chances are rather slim.
Also which team could represent Indian in the football tournament? Both senior and under-23 national teams would be busy at the time with qualifying engagements. So in football, the IOA would put the AIFF in problems...

19. February
Note-1: India didn't achieve what we had all hoped for at the SAFF Cup last month, the defence of our title, but in the latest FIFA rankings released by the world's football governing body today, India have moved up three spots from 125 to 122.

Note-2: As their remains no slot in the 2002/03 Indian football calendar, the 2002/03 Federation Cup will be held delayed in August 2003, the AIFF informed, insisting that the tournament has not been scrapped.

18. February
7th National League - Goa: Salgaocar SC 0-1 Mohun Bagan AC - Goal: 0-1 Baichung Bhutia (58').
Baichung Bhutia's stunning finish and Yakubu Rabiu's stout defending was the hallmark of Mohun Bagan's fortitious solitary goal win over Salgaocar in the National League, at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. Bhutia - virtually a passenger throughout the match - gave finishing touches to a Renedy Singh cross, in his own immitable style. "It was a wonderful finish and that's why Bhutia is special," acknowledged Salgaocar coach Savio Madeira, as he was left grappling for answers. "We did everything right, except scoring. Mohun Bagan were nowhere. Our strikers need to be more accurate," the former international lamented. Bhutia's 58.minute strike enabled Mohun Bagan jump to second spot with 25 points from 14 encounters. East Bengal are comfortable at the top with 34 points while Salgaocar, after the initial promise are in the third spot with 24 points. It was a match that Mohun Bagan would have so easily lost but still managed to emerge on the winning side. And it was all made possible by one great finish by a great player and some resolute back-court play from Nigerian Yakubu, who seemed more like a politician - at the right place at the right time. Salgaocar had themselves to blame, both for disappointing 20,000 roaring supporters and missing the chance to close the gap between them and leaders East Bengal. For 58 tantalising minutes Salgaocar were ready to bridge the gap, before the quality and persistence of their rivals' football grounded them, which was the least they deserved. Jatin Singh Bisht and Tomba Singh were the livewires in the midfield while Liberian Sunday Seah was a constant threat upfront. But some imaginative striking and a sprinkle of inspired goalkeeping from Rajat Ghosh Dastidar meant Salgaocar had failed to open their account throughout the 90 minutes of play. There were at least half a dozen chances, all of whom went abegging. Once, Sunday Seah managed to get the ball past Bagan goalkeeper and into the nylons but assistant referee Bharat Mani had his flag-up signalling off-side. The decision evoked strong protests from the passionate fans and players themselves. But like they say, nothing changed. Salgaocar needed a goal and they were succeeding in pushing Bagan further and further back. Sunday Seah spoiled a strong run by clipping the ball too high but the chance that followed for Climax Lawrence two minutes later was much more clear cut. On this occasion, Climax shot wide with only the goalkeeper begging for mercy, after being fed on the platter by Tomba Singh. Bagan's goal had class written all over it. Brazilian Jose Baretto intelligently fed Renedy Singh down the left flank, who essayed the ball into the Salgaocar goalmouth. The cross seemed innocous until Bhutia rushed from nowhere and stretched himself fully to direct the ball into the nylons. Bagan's spirit and commitment were crucial factors in enabling them to hold on to the lead for so long. No one epitomised this more than Nigerian Yakubu, who darted across the line and then back into the defence to deny the player in possession - Sunday Seah mostly - time and space.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey, Manitombi Singh (Samson Singh), Covan Lawrence, Prashant Jaggi, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Tomba Singh, Climax Lawrence (Bungo Singh), Jatin Singh Bisht, Dharamjit Singh (Alex Ambrose), Sunday Seah.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Satish Bharti (Kajol Bhattacharya), Yakubu Mallam, Lolendro Singh, Basudeb Mondal (Palash Karmakar), Jose Baretto, Ranjan Dey, Renedy Singh, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri.

7th National League - Goa: Mahindra United 1-2 JCT Mills - Goals: 1-0 Mongba Aby Samson (25'), 1-1 Hardip Singh Saini (42'), 1-2 Kwabena Yeboah (48').
JCT Mills good run in the National League continued with a 2-1 away win against Mahindra United at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai. Mahindra initially started-off the match with an attacking rhythm, controlling affairs for around the first half hour of the match but they were only able to score once. Ivory Coast striker striker Mongba Aby Samson scored in the 25.minute, when he stole the ball from Hardip Singh Saini and shot past JCT keeper Mohammed Mansuru. Slowly JCT gained control, especially international Jo Paul Ancheri showing his class, took control of affairs in midfield along with Hardip Singh Saini. Saini equalised in the 42.minute after a chaotic situation infront of the Mahindra goal and three minutes into the second half JCT scored the winner, after Daljit Singh's throw-in was headed by Ancheri to the cross bar, Ghanian Kwabena Yeboah was the fastest to react to score. Both teams had their chances after this but no one scored.

17. February
Former international Parminder Singh, assistant coach and manager at JCT Mills, has been appointed national coach for the under-23 squad in their Pre-Olympic Asia qualifying matches against Turkmenistan in April 2003. Parminder Singh will be understudy to chief coach Stephen Constantine, while Tollygunge coach Aloke Mukherjee was named as national coach for the senior squad. Sukhwinder Singh was not retained as technical director, as he himself wanted to be releaved of the job.
The venues for India's home matches in the qualifiers for the Asia Cup and the Olympic Games have not been finalised so far, while all players called-up for the training camp, as long as they are under-23 could qualify for both squads.

7th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 1-1 Vasco SC - Goals: 1-0 Ratan Singh (11'), 1-1 Jules Alberto (39').
Churchill Brothers and Vasco did their faint title-chances no good when both played a none-too-impressive 1-1 draw in the National League, at Nehru Stadium, Margao. A 11.minute strike from Ratan Singh saw Churchill Bros get exactly the start they had hoped for but a series of misses and complacency allowed Vasco the much-needed breathing space to crawl back into the game. For Vasco, Jules Alberto, who otherwise did not have a great game today, drew level in the 39.minute of play. The draw meant neither team moved closer to catching up with the likes of East Bengal and Salgaocar. But, surprisingly, none were complaining. Churchill Bros coach Marcus Pacheco came up with the oft repeated, "something is better than nothing" and "the boys played" post-match comments while his counterpart Derrick Pereira simply said, " we came close to winning the match on several ocassions but luck was not on our side." Derrick Pereira probably has a point. Rui Wanderley Weis missed an absolute sitter at the fag end of the match while Churchill Bros goalkeeper Edward Ansah brought off a spectacular save to deny Marcos Pereira, at the start of the second session. In-between Churchill defender Osumanu Husseini raced the 20mts of his life to effect a goalline save in the 61.minute off Rui Wanderley, with Ansah completely beaten. But, Churchill Bros were the more enterprising of the lot. Rocky Baretto and Tiken Singh provided good support to Yakubu Yusif, but all made the cardinal mistake of getting too close to the goal. And when they attacked from far, somehow goalkeeper Rogerio Ramos got a hand to it. The 11.minute strike by Ratan Singh should be rated among the best goals of the championship. The Manipuri wonder capitalised on a weak clearance by Agnelo Colaco and blasted home from just outside the box, giving no chance whatsoever to ever-alert Rogerio Ramos. If man of the match Ratan's strike was a gem, the one scored by Jules Alberto and set-up by Marcos Pereira also deserves special mention for the way it was set-up and ofcourse the clinical finish. Both teams made changes with their foreign recruits. While Vasco recalled Brazilian Rui Wanderley Weis, Churchill Bros fell back on the services of Ghanaian defender Osumanu Husseini leaving out Ghanaian striker Benjamin Ansah.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Rajesh Meetei, Osumanu Husseini, Mahesh Gawli, Mir Farooq Hyder, Roque Baretto (Preetam Bahadur), Aqueel Ansari (Nascimento Silveira), Noel Wilson (Zaheer Abbas), Ratan Singh, Yusif Yakubu, Tiken Singh.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Seby Dias, Sanjay Parte, Franky Baretto, Agnelo Colaco, Jules Alberto (Santa Singh), Menino Fernandes (Sushanth Mathew), Riston Rodrigues, Satish Minz (Agnelo Gomes), Rui Wanderley Weis, Marco Pereira.

16. February
The AIFF announced the list of 26 probables for the Asia Cup qualifiers and also the list of 28 probables for the under-23 Pre-Olympic qualifiers. The senior team probables list is lead by the return of captain Baichung Bhutia, and the veterans Jo Paul Ancheri and IM Vijayan.
In the Asia Cup preliminary qualifiers India take on North Korea on March 24 and 30 on a home-and-away basis.
In the Pre-Olympic Qualifiers India take on Turkmenistan on April 5 and 19 also on a home-and-away basis.
To enable the top Indian internationals to take part in the camp, the National League Committee decided at their meeting in Margao today to revise the fixtures from Round 19 to 22, with the league now finishing on April 28.
Both the camps will be held under chief national coach Stephen Constantine, with the camps being held jointly at Fatorda in Margao, Goa from March 9, 2003. Some players have been called into the senior and under-23 squads.
ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS: GK: Naseem Akhtar (Mahindra Utd), Sandip Nandy (East Bengal), Virender Singh (Punjab Police). DF: Selwyn Fernandes (Vasco), Mahesh Gawli (Churchill Bros), Debjit Ghosh (Mahindra Utd), Arun Malhotra (East Bengal), Deepak Mondal (East Bengal), Peter Siddique (Mahindra Utd), M Suresh (East Bengal). MF: Jules Alberto (Vasco), Jo Paul Ancheri (JCT Mills), Subhash Chakraborty (East Bengal), Alvito D'Cunha (East Bengal), Palash Karnakar (Mohun Bagan), Kalia Kulothungan (East Bengal), Climax Lawrence (Salgaocar), Sameer Naik (Dempo), Riston Rodrigues (Vasco), Renedy Singh (Mohun Bagan), Tomba Singh (Salgaocar), Shanmugam Venkatesh (East Bengal). FW: Alex Ambrose (Salgaocar), Baichung Bhutia (Mohun Bagan), IM Vijayan (JCT Mills), Abhishek Yadav (Mahindra Utd).
PRE-OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS: GK: Naseem Aktar (Mahindra Utd), VP Satish Kumar (East Bengal), Sangram Mukherjee (East Bengal). DF: Satish Bharti (Mohun Bagan), Selwyn Fernandes (Vasco), Mahesh Gawli (Churchill Bros), Arun Malhotra (East Bengal), Pio Rodrigues (Churchill Bros), Harpreet Singh (JCT Mills), Manitombi Singh (Salgaocar). MF: Roque Barreto (Churchill Bros), Subhash Chakraborty (East Bengal), VK Harish (Indian Bank), Mehtab Hussain (Tollygunge), Vinu Jose (State Bank of Travancore), Dipankar Roy (East Bengal), Sheikh Sanjeeb (Mohun Bagan), Raju Singh (East Bengal), Sukhwinder Singh (JCT Mills), Jatin Singh Bisht (Salgaocar), Malswam Tulunga (East Bengal). FW: Ishfaq Ahmed (HAL), Alex Ambrose (Salgaocar), Ashim Biswas (Tollygunge), Praveen Kumar (Punjab Police), Nitin Pradhan (Vasco), Harvinder Singh (JCT Mills), Abhishek Yadav (Mahindra Utd).

7th National League - Goa: Dempo SC 2-2 East Bengal Club - Goals: 0-1 Mike Okoro (18'), 0-2 Douglas da Silva (20'), 1-2 Jose Colaco (32'), 2-2 Mario Soares (36').
East Bengal were brought back to earth with a 2-2 draw by Dempo, three days after their impressive win over Churchill Bros, at a ground that has tortured them over the years. While East Bengal coach Subhash Bhowmick is used to seeing fightbacks from his boys, today, he watched his team lose valuable ground in the title race when the Calcutta giants surrendered a two-goal advantage to split points with Dempo in the National League, at Nehru Stadium, Margao. Two minutes of brilliance and four minutes of madness was the tale to tell about East Bengal. Two goals in the span of two minutes - one from Mike Okoro and the second from Brazilian Douglas Silva - meant almost everyone in the stadium believed the match was heading for a rout. But, Dempo, came back strongly into the match to level scores by the 36.minute with goals from Jose Colaco and Mario Soares.
Dempo wanted just a point from the East Bengal match and it was not surprising that they started with 5-4-1. But the plan seemed to go awry as East Bengal kept bombarding the goal with fierce drives while goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal wondered whether there was any defence infront of him. East Bengal took the lead in the 18.minute when Mike Okoro collected a ball from the centre, brilliantly hoodwinked Ratan Singh and placed the ball into the nylons past the onrushing goalkeeper. Brazilian Douglas da Silva compounded miseries for the Goan outfit when he smartly headed a Alvito D'Cunha corner-kick, rising to the ocassion, past the outstretched hands of the keeper. After this moment of inspiration it was perspiration all the way for East Bengal as they strove for the points and took things a wee bit too lightly. After some close misses where EB Channa was unlucky, Dempo pulled one back through the boots of man of the match Jose Colaco. Fed by Lazarus Fernandes, the wily medio took an innocous looking on-the-rise shot that somwehow got to the back of the nylons as East Bengal keeper Sandip Nandy was too slow and late to react. A goal mouth melee in the 36.minute saw Mario Soares giving finishing touches even as Nandy was woefully out of position and East Bengal players appealed for a hand-ball to Lazarus Fernandes. To be fair to East Bengal, the call seemed legitimate. Once Brazilian Douglas Silva got injured (groin) and had to be substituted, East Bengal never really appeared threatening. With Alvito D'Cunha too off-colour and substituted, the East Bengal strikeforce lacked teeth.
DEMPO: Abhijit Mondal, Melvin Rodrigues, Stanley Colaco, Dominic Noronha, Ratan Singh, Lazarus Fernandes, Jose Colaco, Mario Soares, Bijen Singh (Wilton Gomes), Jose Luciano, EB Channa (Levy Coelho).
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Suley Musah, Arun Malhotra (Chandan Das), Deepak Mondal, M Suresh, Sasthi Duley, Subhas Chakraborty, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Douglas da Silva (Surya Bikash Chakraborty), Alvito D'Cunha (Dipankar Roy), Mike Okoro.

7th National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 0-4 Tollygunge Agragami - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Ashim Biswas (35',88'), 0-3 Akeem Abul Alem (90'), 0-4 Moses Owira (90+').
Indian Telephone Industries misery in the National League continued with another heavy defeat, this time a 0-4 loss against Tollygunge Agragami at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Once again Indian youngster Ashim Biswas scored a brace for his club. Ashim opened the scoring in the 35.minute slotting home past ITI keeper Gumpe Rime and he decided the match in the 88.minute with a left-footer. After that the ITI defence just gave up, with Nigerian striker Akeem Abul Alem and Kenyan midfielder Moses Owira adding to the tally for Tollygunge. With such performances ITI will have difficulty to win any match in the NFL and also look at certain relegation, now 10 points away from a non-relegation spot.

7th National League - Chennai: Indian Bank 2-1 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 1-0 KG Joseph (55'), 1-1 Rajendra Prasad (56'), 2-1 Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (85').
In an important match regarding relegation from the National League, Indian Bank came back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory against Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai. Both sides has their chances in the match, with HAl especially unlucky as the woodwork was in the way on a number of occasions, while Indian Bank strikers were just unable to score of their chances. In the 55.minute KG Joseph put the Bankmen ahead with a header off a Ravi Babu floater, only for HALs Rajendra Prasad's header to equalise a minute later. Sri Lankan striker Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya scored the winner five minutes from time, to give the Bankmen a much needed victory to stay clear of the relegation zone. For HAL things seems to become more difficult, as they are now seven points adrift of the non-relegation spots, were Indian Bank and Mahindra are.

15. February
In the last week we at indianfootball.com have received a number of eMail, where people were asking us or also sometimes demanding that we update the scores from the National League faster. The reality of updating the site is that the indianfootball.com editors are all based in Germany, so we depend on score updates from journalists and/or football fans, who have access to the internet or send us SMS messages via mobile phones. So the updating of scores sometimes can take a few hours.
So if you as regular indianfootball.com visitors want to help us. be it through an eMail or SMS, just contact us . We are happy about any help we get to update the scores as soon as possible!

Note-1: Might Kalyan Chaubey not return to Germany this summer to play for Karlsruher SC II? If an article by the IANS is to be believed, then his chances are slim to non-existent.
"The German Football Federation has imposed a restriction on foreign footballers from this season," Chaubey told IANS.
"According to the new rule, if the difference in quality between a German footballer and a foreign player is not substantial, then the latter will not be allowed permission to play in Germany.
"This is despite the foreign player impressing the club management. The new rule is unfortunate," Chaubey said.
A disheartened Chowbey is back in India playing for Goan club Salgaocar.
After a foreign player is picked by a German club, he is "checked out" by the German Football Federation.
"The federation checks the player's talent and gives him the clearance certificate if his performance is way above an average German player," Chowbey said. The government work permit is granted only after the issue of this certificate.
Chowbey complained that the German authorities had become rigid in issuing work permit for foreign footballers since the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S. Chowbey is not giving up yet. He hopes German football agent Manfred Hudd will convince the federation to issue a clearance certificate. "Hudd has promised that he will convince the federation to issue me the certificate to play for Karlsruher SC. And this clearance certificate will bring the work permit," Chaubey said.
Chowbey is also hoping to he will be tried out by some second division teams in Europe.

Note-2: India has decided to pull out of the SAF Games in Pakistan next month citing threats to its contingent from Al-Qaeda, Taliban and other terrorist outfits operating from that country. A decision to this effect has been taken by the External Affairs Ministry in consultation with the Sports Ministry which had earlier decided to send a 350-strong contingent to Islamabad for the 10-day event beginning March 29. Citing a two-fold reason for non-participation, the sources said "there are fears that the security of our contingent could be jeopardised as Al-Qaeda, Taliban and other terrorist organisations are operating from Pakistani soil." The other reason, they said, was that Pakistan was continuing to aid and abet cross-border terrorism and had done nothing to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure existing there. "Participation in the Games will indicate that there has been some normalcy in ties between New Delhi and Islamabad. But that is not not the situation. The relations are not normal. Pakistan has not taken any action," they said, adding that "under the circumstances, it is not possible to send the Indian contingent".

14. February
7th National League - Calcutta: Mohun Bagan AC 1-1 Mahindra United - Goals: 0-1 Ednei Jose Damasio (41'), 1-1 Jose Barreto (89').
Mohun Bagan were lucky to get away with a 1-1 draw against Mahindra United in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. The highlights of the match where the return of India captain Baichung Bhutia to action after his calf-muscle injury and referee PK Bose from Madhya Pradesh, who helped Bagan to avert an imminent defeat. Mahindra controlled proceedings in the first half but couldn't score of their chances until the 41.minute, when Bagan international defender Satish Bharti couldn't stop Mahindra striker Mongba Aby Samson without a foul. Brazilian Ednei Jose Damasio scored of the penalty, his sixth goal in five matches. Bagan coach Subrata Bhattacharya desperate to reinforce his attack, which was too weak in the first half, brought in Baichung Bhutia, who showed glimpses of his class but it could be seen that he hasn't been playing lately. The controversy of the match came in the 89.minute, when the referee blowed the whistle and pointed to the spot for Bagan, after an alleged handball from Mahindra midfielder Khalid Siddique. To all others it was clear that Siddique had chested the ball but not to the referee. There were some discussions before Brazilian Jose Barreto could take the kick and equalise for Bagan. Only a minute later the referee blowed the final whistle, even though the fourth referee outside showed four minutes of add-on time but the referee just ended the match. After the match ended the referee was surrounded by Mahindra players who did not agree with the decision but Mahindra coach Harish Rao and manager Henry Menezes averted any untoward incidence.
MOHUN BAGAN: Rajat Ghosh Dastidar, Dulal Biswas, Yakubu, Satish Bharti, Lolendra Singh, Ranjan Dey, Basudeb Mondal, Jose Barreto, Jayanta Sen (Baichung Bhutia), Sunil Chetri (Amar Ganguly), George Ekeh.
MAHINDRA: Sunder Raj Rajan, Anthony Pereira, Tapan Ghosh, Peter Siddique, Debjit Ghosh, Khalid Siddique, James Singh (Naushad Pari), Surkumar Singh, RP Singh (Petr Strande, RC Prakash), Mongba Aby Samson, Ednei Jose Damasio.

13. February
7th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 1-3 East Bengal Club - Goals: 0-1 Douglas da Silva (27'), 1-1 Ratan Singh (35'), 1-2 Alvito D'Cunha (46'), 1-3 Mike Okoro (88').
East Bengal continue to be unstoppable this National League season! This time they won 3-1 against Churchill Brothers at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. East Bengal relied on counter-attacks which totally paid-off, as the Clacutta giants scored a goal of each of their three chances. East Bengal went ahead in the 27.minute when Brazilian Douglas da Silva headed in an Alvito D'Cunha freekick. But Churchill Brothers equalised eight minutes later, when Ratan Singh lobbed over East Bengal keeper Sandip Nandy. Coming out of halftime East Bengal once again went ahead when Alvito D'Cunha scored an excellent goal, chipping over Churchill keeper Edward Ansah. East Bengal scored the winner two minutes from the final whistle, when Nigerian Mike Okoro received a goalkick from his keeper Sandip Nandy, and seeing Churchill keeper Edward Ansah far off his position, tried a long lob, which dipped into the goal.

Note-1: Football governing body FIFA will directly control the dope tests in the National League, expected to begin by the end of this month. "FIFA has laid down in clear terms that the entire process would have to be strictly on the lines of the procedure followed in top international events like the World Cup," AFC medical committee member Dr Nishith Ranjan Chowdhury informed in Calcutta today. Chowdhury, a sports medicine expert, said the issue was deliberated upon at the AFC medical committee meeting at Penang in Malaysia on January 26. "The entire kit for the tests will be supplied by FIFA from its headquarters in Zurich," Chowdhury, who was present at the AFC meet, said. He said, the kit, which includes papers and sample collection equipment, would arrive in India in the next few days. The random selection of matches for the tests would be done through draw of lots, which will be conducted by Malaysia-based AFC medical committee chairman Gurcharan Singh. The samples would be sent through AFC to FIFA, which would select the dope testing laboratories for analysing them.

12. February
Might soon a new chapter in the Country Vs Club controversy be added?
The AIFF has called a meeting on February 16 in Goa to discuss with the 12 National League clubs, if the camp for the senior and under-23 national teams for the Asia Cup qualifiers and the Athens Olympic Games qualifiers can begin earlier.
In the Asia Cup preliminary Round qualifiers India face North Korea in the two-team Group G, matches scheduled March 23-30, while in the Olympic Asia Round 1 qualifiers India face Turkmenistan, matches scheduled April 5-19.
According to premature AIFF plans, the NFL could have another break after March 2 finishing Round 17, two Rounds earlier than the current schedule, with the end of the league sometime in May. But the clubs would be in a fix, as the foreign recruits have contracts until end-April, some even only until end-March. This could cause major problems for the clubs. A suggestion from the club side was to try to finish the league by mid-March, even scheduling matches every three days. But this could cause other problems, like injury to players, something we had more than enough at the SAFF Cup.
But one thing the AIFF seems to have learned from the third place finish at the SAFF Cup in Dhaka is that the national team needs more than just a five day camp ahead of international engagements, something national coach Stephen Constantine had asked for and what the AIFF officials themselves have realised.
So lets see what decision is taken at the meeting in Goa on Sunday...

7th National League - Goa: Dempo SC 0-0 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: none.
Dempo were only able to play out a goalless draw against bottom club Indian Telephone Industries in a National League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. ITI goalkeeper Gumpe Rime's heroics kept the match goalless, with Rime proving his class, which had been in doubt after some error-prone performances in the earlier matches. ITI take hope from this draw in their fight from relegation, still without a win this NFL season. Dempo meanwhile is unable to keep up the momentum with which it started into the NFL season, even leading the league at one stage.

7th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 1-0 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 1-0 IM Vijayan (82').
JCT Mills won 1-0 against Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in a National League match at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. Seasoned striker IM Vijayan scored the winner in the 82.minute, when Mark Mascarenhas saved a Jaswinder Singh header but only enabling Vijayan to score, his first NFL goal of the season. Both teams had their chances earlier but none was able to score.

11. February
7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 4-2 Indian Bank - Goals: 1-0 Moses Owira (18'), 2-0,3-0 Ashim Biswas (21',34'), 4-0 Akeem Abul Alem (67'), 4-1 Syed Shabir Pasha (73'), 4-2 Basheer Ahmed (87').
Tollygunge Agragami trashed Indian Bank 4-2 in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Star once again for the Calcutta minows was young international striker Ashim Biswas, who played a more withdrawn role today, more of an attacking playmaker, covering a lot of ground, making useful openings and joining Akeem upfront if needed. Ashim Biswas is proving to be India's biggest prospect and it will surely be interesting to see him in action together with Baichung Bhutia in the national team. A new deadly duo in the creation. In today's match Moses Owira opened the scoring for Tolly, before Ashim added two before halftime. Akeem scored Tollygunge's fourth in the 67.minute, before Tolly's complacency was punished by the Bankmen, who reduced the deficit, through goals from seasoned Syed Shabir Pasha and Basheer Ahmed.
TOLLYGUNGE: Arindam Ghosh, Amitava Chanda, Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmal (Sujit Neogi), Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hossain, Sandip Das, Moses Owira, Srikanta Dutta (Biswarup Bisu), Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.
INDIAN BANK: Sebastian Netto, AV Willy (Syed Shabir Pasha), Imran Mohammed, Anandarajan, DC Nathaniel, VK Harish, Noah Rozario, Mohammed bin Hassan, Ravi Babu, Stanley Festus (Hamilton Bobby, Basheer Ahmed), Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya.

7th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 0-0 Salgaocar SC - Goals: none.
In a match that seldom rose above the levels of mediocrity, Salgaocar and Vasco played a boring goalless draw in the National League, at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. The strong 18.000 crowd that thronged the stadium in the hope of seeing some exciting contest between two of Goa's most talented outfits had to turn back dejectedly. All that they got to see was 90 minutes of listless and aimless soccer. The draw meant the Goan giants would allow leaders East Bengal (down in Goa) the much needed breathing space. The gap now between East Bengal (30) and second-placed Salgaocar Sports Club is six points with East Bengal playing a match less. Salgaocar medio Jatin Singh Bisht was the man of the match for his inspired performance for the green and white brigade. While the first session was a big, big let down, the teams seemed to get into the groove in the second. However, barring the last 12 minutes, there was virtually nothing worthwhile happening. Salgaocar had their goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey to thank as the Bengali lad brought two timely saves, at a time when Vasco were threatening to run away with the match. At first, he brought to nought a Marcos Pereira fierce pile-driver and later stopped Nitin Pradhan in his tracks in a one-on-one situation. Kalyan picked up an injury in the process but Salgaocar management said it was not serious to keep Kalyan out of the next encounter. On the otherside, Vasco goalkeeper Rogerio Ramos somehow managed to get his hand to a Sunday Seah flick in the dying minutes of the match. In-between Alex Ambrose shot wide from handshaking distance while Manitombi's volley from 30 yards out kissed the side post and went out. In the first session, Salgaocar's Jatin Singh Bisht brought a goalline save off a Marcos Pereira header with goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey all but beaten. Vasco coach Derrick Pereira surprised many when he benched Brazilian striker Run Wanderly Weis and instead opted for another Brazilian Luis Antonio Grooters, who can at best be described as ordinary material. With 21 minutes to go for the final whistle, he was substituted by Sushanth Mathew.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chaubey (Juje Siddi), Manitombi Singh, Covan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Denis Cabral (Bungo Singh), Climax Lawrence, Jatin Singh Bisht, Dharamjit Singh, Samson Singh (Alex Ambrose), Sunday Seah.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Seby Dias, Sanjay Parte, Selwyn Fernandes, Franky Baretto, Agnelo Colaco, Jules Alberto, Menino Fernandes, Riston Rodrigues (Nitin Pradhan), Luis Antonio Grooters (Sushanth Mathew), Marcos Pereira.

10. February
IFA secretary Ranjit Gupta has been reappointed as Project Director for the Indian under-17 national team. Last year Gupta had been project director for the under-20 team, while earlier he had taken care of the under-17 team.

9. February
2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy - Final: Punjab Police 1-0 PAP, Jalandhar (golden Goal)

Note-1: Goan outfit Fransa FC have strengthened their squad ahead of the 2.Division National League. The club have signed Orlandu Azequeil Mora (Clube Athletico Plapense, ARGENTINA), Jose Omar Flores (Coronel Bolognesi FC, PERU) and Sebastian Hector Canio (Olerio de Brazil). The three south American footballers have been signed by the club with the aim of qualifying for next seasons National League. The club had earlier named Arjuna Awardee Bruno Coutinho as coach.

Note-2: Another 2.Division National League club, former NFL-side Air-India have also added three players to strengthen the squad. Mumbai lad Uday Kumar Konar has been loaned from Mohun Bagan, like Milton Fernandes from Mumbai Customs, while former Indian international Godfrey Pereira has been reactivated from retirement. All three players have been signed in view to add experience to the very young but talented Air-India team.

8. February
7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 4-1 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 1-0,3-0,4-0 Mike Okoro (21',44',75'), 2-0 Suley Musah (38'), 4-1 Kenneth Onu (77').
East Bengal just seem unstoppable in the current National League season, winning 4-1 against relegation threatened Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. East Bengal's Nigerian striker Mike Okoro was the pick of the lot with three goals, joining countryman George Ekeh of Mohun Bagan at the top of the scorer chart with 10 goals. Okoro opened the scoring in the 21.minute, when Suresh send Alvito free on the left and he crossed for Okoro to tap-in. Ghanian midfielder Suley Musah doubled the score in the 38.minute volleying home a freekick from Arun Malhotra. Okoro got on the scoresheet for the second time in the 44.minute through a penalty, after HALs youngster Abhijeet tripped Subhas Chakraborty in the box. Okoro then scored his teams fourth and his third in the 75.minute, a gem of a goal, when Douglas da Silva send a ball crossfield to the right to Malswam Tulunga, who then made a typical Tulunga run, before centering the ball for Okoro to slot home. But then East Bengal became complacent, as has become typical lately for the team, and just two minutes later HALs Kenneth Onu scored a consolation goal for the Aircraftmen. Another big win for East Bengal and the gap at the top of the league has widened to a healthy seven points.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Arun Malhotra, M Suresh, Deepak Mondal, Douglas da Silva, Alvito D'Cunha, Suley Musah, Shanmugam Venkatesh (Chandan Das), Sasthi Duley, Subhas Chakraborty (Malswam Tulunga), Mike Okoro (Dipankar Roy).
HAL: Subhas Kumar, Santosh Kiran, Mehraj-din Wadoo, Oniya Obinna Winners, Dayanand, Abhijeet, Rajendra Prasad (Mahendra Mani), Jagadish Kumar (Prahlad Singh Rawat), Ishfaq Ahmed, Kenneth Onu, Raja Baliev Nurlan.

7th National League - Goa: Churchill Brothers SC 2-0 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Yakubu Yusif (11',23').
In a Goan derby in the National League, Churchill Brothers got the better of Dempo SC, beating them 2-0 at the Nehru Stadium, Margao. Once again Ghanian striker Yakubu Yusif was on target for Churchill Brothers, scoring the two goals for the winers. The first goal came in the 11.minute, when a Ratan Singh cross from the left was not properly collected by Dempo keeper Francis Fernandes, who gifted the the ball to Yakubu to score. The second goal was scored by Yakubu in the 23.minute, when the ball rebounded of the left goalpost, after new Ghanian striker Benjamin Ansah had taken a shot.

7th National League - Bangalore: Indian Telephone Industries 0-1 Mahindra United - Goals: 0-1 Ednei Jose Damasio (90').
Indian Telephone Industries lost 0-1 against Mahindra United in a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Mahindra's new Brazilian striker Ednei Jose Damasio scored the winner in the 90.minute of a penalty, after a having been fouled by ITI skipper Sunil Kumar. In a match, where ITI had the chance to reduce the gap to the non-relegation places and Mahindra to get further away from any probelsm, both sides had their chances but couldn't score, before Damasio struck again for Mahindra, his fifth goal in four matches.

2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy - Semifinal: PAP, Jalandhar 1-0 JCT Mills
2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy - Semifinal: Punjab Police, Jalandhar 1-0 DFA, Hoshiarpur

7. February
7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 1-1 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 1-0 Ashim Biswas (2'), 1-1 Sunday Seah (41').
A spirited Tollygunge Agragami held Salgaocar to a 1-1 draw in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. Young international striker Ashim Biswas continued his good form opening the score for Tollygunge in the 2.minute, when he was send through by Moses Owira. Tollygunge were then weakend in the 17.minute when their experienced Nigerian defender Isiaka Awoyemi had to be substituted with a leg injury and the team pulled back giving Salgaocar space to attack. In the 41.minute Liberian striker Sunday Seah equalised with a header of a cross from Covan Lawrence and in the second half it was Salgaocar all the way. Tollygunge keeper Arindam Ghosh played a great match, in contrast to the numerous mistakes he made in the earlier match against ITI, saving a number of Salgaocar chances.
TOLLYGUNGE: Arindam Ghosh, Manas Das, Isiaka Awoyemi (Sujit Neogi), Debkumar Sashmal, Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hossain (Srikanta Dutta), Sandip Das, Moses Owira, Sujoy Dutta, Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abolanle (Laltu Das).
SALGAOCAR: Juje Siddi, Manitombi Singh, Prashant Jaggi, Covan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Tomba Singh (Denis Cabral), Climax Lawrence, Dharamjit Singh, Sunday Seah, Samson Singh (Alex Ambrose).

7th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 0-0 Vasco SC - Goals: none.
The National League match between JCT Mills and Vasco ended goalless at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. Both sides marked the opposing strikers closely, allowing them nearly no space at all, as the midfielders of both sides worked hard to create chances, whcih went in vain. Special mention has to made of Vasco's Brazilian Marcos Pereira, who was always involved when a Vasco attack meant danger for JCT, even after sustaining a head injury early in the match.

7th National League - Chennai: Indian Bank 0-1 Mohun Bagan AC - Goal: 0-1 George Ekeh (84').
Bagan's Nigerian striker George Ekeh once again proved his worth for his club, as he scored the winner against the run of play against hosts Indian Bank in a National League match at the Nehru Stadium, Chennai. The Bankmen's foreign strikers, Sri Lankan Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya and Nigerian Stanley Festus had numerous chances but either they messed them up but were denied by an inform Bagan keeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar. George Ekeh scored the winner six minutes from time after receiving a pass from Amar Ganguly, beat two defenders and then beat keeper Sebastian Netto.

Delhi Senior Division - Final: Hindustan Club 0-2 Indian Air Force, Delhi - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Kalyan Pal (51',89').
Indian Air Force, Delhi won their 4th Delhi Senior Division title!

2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy: DFA, Hoshiarpur 4-0 Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy: Punjab Police Football Academy 1-0 DFA, Nawanshahr

6. February
2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy: Punjab Police 2-1 Jarnail SC

5. February
2.Olympian Jarnail Singh Memorial Football Trophy: JCT Mills 3-2 Punjab State Electricity Board

4. February
7th National League - Calcutta: Tollygunge Agragami 3-2 Indian Telephone Industries - Goals: 1-0 Ashim Biswas (5'), 1-1 Ibrahim Karim Al Hasan (13'), 1-2 Raghuveer Singh (15'), 2-2,3-2 Moses Owira (57',90').
Kenyan striker Moses Owira scored a late winner for Tollygunge Agragami, enabling his club to beat bottom of the table Indian Telephone Industries 3-2 in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta. The match was the story of goalkeeping blunders, as all five goals resulted of mistakes of Tolly's Arindam Ghosh and ITIs Gumpe Rime, both who had shown good form in earlier NFL matches. Tollygunge opened the score in the 5.minute when Ashim Biswas' long-ranger was misjudged by Rime. ITI hit back to equalise through Ghanian Ibrahim Karim Al Hasan in the 13.minute and two minutes later ITI even took the lead when Raghuveer Singh scored. Tollygunge had to wait until the 57.minute to equalise through Moses Owira, who then also headed in the winner in the 90.minute, an important victory for Tollygunge in their quest to stay in the National League, opening up a six point gap to the relegation zone, while ITI remain last with just three points from 11 matches.
TOLLYGUNGE: Arindam Ghosh, Amitava Chanda (Sujit Neogi), Isiaka Awoyemi, Debkumar Sashmal, Dipayan Majumdar, Mehtab Hossain (Biswarup Bisu), Sandip Das, Srikanta Dutta (Sujoy Dutta), Moses Owira, Ashim Biswas, Akeem Abul Alem.
ITI: Gumpe Rime, T Roopesh, Sunil Kumar, AS Firoze, Akshay Das, James Singh, Raghuveer Singh, J Muralidharan (Mohammed Najeeb), KV Dhanesh, Ibrahim Karim Al Hasan, Jude Nwadu.

Delhi Senior Division - Semifinal - 2.leg: Moonlight Club 4-3 Hindustan Club
Delhi Senior Division - Semifinal - 2.leg: Indian Air Force, Delhi 2-0 New Delhi Heroes

3. February
7th National League - Calcutta: Mohun Bagan AC 0-2 Salgaocar SC - Goals: 0-1 Bello Rasaq (15'), 0-2 Climax Lawrence (73').
Salgaocar won 2-0 away to Mohun Bagan in a National League match at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta; bringing Bagan back down to ground realities, after their goal scoring spree in the last two matches. Salgaocar proved to be the fitter and more organised outfit, Bagan unable to display any wingplay, with Renedy Singh making a few exceptions. Salgaocar's Nigerian Bello Rasaq shot his team into the lead in the 13.minute with a power-packed left-footer, while new international Climax Lawrence doubled the lead in the 73.minute of a penalty, after Bagan defender Yakubu had brought down Liberian striker Sunday Seah.
MOHUN BAGAN: Bibash Ghosh (Rajat Ghosh Dastidar), Dulal Biswas, Yakubu, Satish Bharti, Lolendra Singh, Basudeb Mondal, Palash Karmakar, Renedy Singh; Sheikh Sanjib (Sunil Chettri, Amar Ganguly), Jose Barreto, George Ekeh.
SALGAOCAR: Kalyan Chowbey (Juje Siddi), Manitombi Singh, Prashant Jaggi, Covan Lawrence, Roberto Fernandes, Bello Rasaq, Tomba Singh (Dennis Cabral), Climax Lawrence, Dharamjit Singh, Sunday Seah, Samson Singh (Jatin Singh Bisht).

7th National League - Calcutta: East Bengal Club 3-2 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0 EB Channa (3' - own Goal), 1-1 Raman Vijayan (4'), 1-2 EB Channa (14'), 2-2,3-2 Mike Okoro (54',69').
National League leaders East Bengal won a thriller 3-2 against Dempo SC at the Saltlake Stadium, Calcutta, with the crowds withnessing a high quality encounter. East Bengal opened the scoring in the 3.minute when a Alvito D'Cunha freekick was deflected into the Dempo goal by their new Sri Lankan striker AB Channa but directly after resumption Dempo equalised through former East Bengal striker Raman Vijayan. East Bengal then had the chance to go ahead a few minutes later but Venkatesh's shot was well saved by Dempo keeper Francis Fernandes. Dempo used their chance to take the lead in the 14.minute, when another former East Bengal player, Bijen Singh send AB Channa clear, who shot past keeper Sandip Nandy. Dempo pulled back with the lead and East Bengal had their chances late in the first half but were unable to score, Chandan Das even missing a penalty. But things changed in the second half as East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick brought in young-winger Subhas Chakraborty, who made live difficult for the third former East Bengal player, Ratan Singh. East Bengal equalised in the 54.minute when Subhas found Suley Musah free on the left, a cross and in-form Nigerian striker Mike Okoro scoring. The winner Subhas setup himself for Okoro from the left, with the Nigerian heading in, what was to be East Bengal's winner. At the halfway stage of the NFL, East Bengal have collected 27 points, five clear of nearest rivals Salgaocar.
EAST BENGAL: Sandip Nandy, Suley Musah, Arun Malhotra, Deepak Mondal (Malswam Tulunga), Douglas de Silva, M Suresh, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Chandan Das (Sasthi Duley), Dipankar Roy (Subhas Chakraborty), Alvito D'Cunha, Mike Okoro.
DEMPO: Francis Fernandes; Ratan Singh, Jose Luciano, Stanley Colaco, Melvin Rodrigues, Bijen Singh, Jose Colaco, Mario Soares, Lazarus Fernandes, Raman Vijayan (Sergey Andreev), Aedric Bandana Channa.

7th National League - Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-0 Indian Bank - Goal: 1-0 Kenneth Onu (37').
In a National League match at the Bangalore Football Stadium, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited won 1-0 against Indian Bank. Nigerian striker Kenneth Onu headed the winner for HAL in the 37.minute of a cross from Dayanand. An important victory for the Aircraftmen in their fight to stay in the NFL, while for the Bankmen the situation is slowly getting dangerous, after having started well into the league.

4th Air-India Millenium Cup - Final: Air-India White 0-0,4-3 Western Railway (on penalties) - Goals: none.

Note-1: A Santoshkumar Singh, All Manipur Football Association President, has been appointed technical director of the Indian women team by the AIFF. The team will participate in the AFC Women's Football Championship to be held from April 17 in Bangkok, Thailand. The AIFF has selected M Ratankumar Singh as the team's coach.

2. February
7th National League - Goa: Vasco SC 0-2 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 0-1 Yakubu Yusif (55',64').
Yakubu Yusif's clinical finishes was the essential difference as Churchill Brothers scored an upset 2-0 win over Vasco SC, in the 7th National League, at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda. After a barren first session where Churchill Bros held territorial and scoring advantage, Yakubu Yusif drew first blood in the 55.minute before scuttling hopes of a Vasco comeback with a gem of a strike, nine minutes later. The win saw Churchill gathering three points but there was no change in their position. With 17 points from 11 matches, just a point less that defending champions Mohun Bagan, they are placed sixth while Vasco are second with 21 points from 11 duels.
Derrick probably had a point. Sunday, was just not Vasco's day as they allowed Churchill the liberty of shooting them down. The blame can be squarely laid at the feet of the midfielders, who at worst could be described as non-existent. "Yes, the midfielders did not get going," admitted Derrick. The normally reliable Vasco brain Abhay Kumar was whimsical, while Jules Alberto despite all the running did not provide the ammunition for the Brazilian strikers - Marcos Pereira and Rui Wanderly Weis - to fire. To be fair, the Brazilian strikers too did not even play quarter of the game they are known to possess.
Yakubu Yusif was the player of the match. He deserved that honour as he was the livewire in the Churchill attack. Churchill Bros were in total control of the midfield and played entertaining soccer. Yakubu was unstopabble and was ably supported by Rocky Barretto, who interestingly set-up the first goal and had a hand nay foot in the second. After a barren first session, a classical finish from Yakubu Yusif got the 18,000 Sunday crowd on its feet. With most rooting for Vasco, they rose in unison to coerce their favourite team. Sadly, for them, that did not happen. Yakubu got the first goal but only after being intelligently set-up by Rocky Barretto, who worked his way from the midfield and found an unmarked Yakubu to do the damage. If the first goal was a beauty - the way it was set-up - the second one, again from Yakubu, was a gem. Yakubu collected a ball from Mir Farooq Hyder, smartly worked his way past goalkeeper Rogerio Ramos and slammed the ball into an empty goal. Yakubu could and should have got his hattrick, in the dying minutes of the match. But, perhaps being too enthusiastic, the Ghanaian sharpshooter shot wide with only the Vasco goalkeeper at his mercy.
VASCO: Rogerio Ramos, Agnelo Colaco, Selwyn Fernandes (Nitin Pradhan), Seby Dias, Abhay Kumar (Sushanth Matthew), Jules Alberto, Marcos Pereira, Santa Singh (Riston Rodrigues), Rui Wanderly Weis, Sanjay Parte, Menino Fernandes.
CHURCHILL: Edward Ansah, Denzie Ferrao (Mir Farooq Hyder), Osumanu Husseini, Mahesh Gawli, Rajesh Meetei, Roque Barretto, Aqueel Ansari (Pio Rodrigues), Zaheer Abbas (Nascimento Silveira), Ratan Singh, Yusif Yakubu, Tiken Singh.

7th National League - Ludhiana: JCT Mills 6-2 Mahindra United - Goals: 1-0 Jaswinder Singh (1), 2-0,3-1,6-2 Jo Paul Ancheri (12',54',90+'), 2-1 Ednei Jose Damasio (19'), 4-1,5-2 Harvinder Singh (56',78'), 4-2 Monga Aby Samson (60').
In an entertaining and high scoring National League match, JCT Mills trashed Mahindra United 6-2 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana. JCT's International midfielder Jo Paul Ancheri scored three of his teams goals, youngster Harvinder Singh Jr added two further, while Jaswinder Singh had opened the scoring for the Phagwara outfit in the very first minute. Mahindra's goals were scored by strikers, Brazilian Ednei Jose Damasio and Monga Aby Samson from Ivory Coast.

4th Air-India Millenium Cup - Semifinal: Air-India White 1-0 Central Railway
Delhi Senior Division - Semifinal - 1.leg: Hindustan Club 3-0 Moonlight Club
Delhi Senior Division - Semifinal - 1.leg: New Delhi Heroes 0-0 Indian Air Force, Delhi
38.Dr BC Roy (under-19) Trophy - Semifinal: Karnataka 0-0,1-0 Goa (golden Goal) - Goal: 1-0 KP Uday Kumar (99').

1. February
Firstly something personal from the indianfootball.com team. The month of January was the most visited-ever for us, with the HITs crossing the 10.000 HITs barrier for the first time. The SAFF Cup was very well visited as we had more than 450 HITs on average per day. So we, Thank You our visitors and we hope to get more and more people interested in Indian football!!!
Our mission continues and maybe we can interact with some of our fans in April, when we are trying to organise a conference on Indian football. More details coming soon...

4th Air-India Millenium Cup - Semifinal: Western Railway 3-1 Bank of Baroda
Delhi Senior Division - Super League Group B: New Delhi Heroes 3-1 Moonlight Club
24th Petroleum Sports Control Board Football Tournament: ONGC 5-1 Bharat Petroleum

Note-1: The East Bengal Vs Dempo National League match, supposed to have been held tomorrow, Sunday, has been postponed by a day to Monday as the venue Saltlake Stadium will be blocked by a musical programme to be held at the ground. The match will now be played under lights on Monday, after the Mohun Bagan-Salgaocar clash, making it a double-header: Calcutta Vs Goa.

Note-2: National Team coach Stephen Constantine will hold a training camp for Coaches in Margao from February 20 to March 2, with coached from across India having been invited.