NEWS FOR THE MONTH OF August 2007
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::: IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007 - keep on voting :::
We have received tons of votes in the sixth annual IndianFootball.Com Awards voting, where Indian football fans, journalists, players and officials decide on award winning performances of the last 2006/07 season. The voting is still open, so those of you who haven't voted so far send in your votes!
The voting will be held in seven different categories: INDIAN PLAYER of the Year, FOREIGN PLAYER of the Year, ROOKIE (NEWCOMER) of the Year, PIO (PLAYER OF INDIAN ORIGIN) of the Year, COACH of the Year, TEAM of the Year, GLOBAL PLAYER of the Year.
Until now, the Awardees have only been mentioned on IndianFootball.Com and we are working hard to finally organise an Awards Gala for this years edition to present trophies to the best of the best.
Cast your vote for India's prestigious annual football awards: >>IndianFootball.Com Awards 2007 .
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC 3-0 Department of Youth Services&Sports - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Alesha Shameki (24',33'), 3-0 Sampath Kumar Kuttimani (42').
::: AIFF appoints Bakshi chairman of Fed Cup Disciplinary panel :::
The AIFF has appointed Rakesh Baskshi, an official of the AG Audit Haryana and secretary of the Chandigarh FA, as chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the 29th Federation Cup to be held in Ludhiana from September 4 to 15.
::: MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi signs for Polish side Wisla Krakau :::
22 year old Nigerian striker MacPherlin Dudu Omagbemi has signed a 3 year contract with Polish giants Wisla Krakau SSA, who are currently second in the Polish "Orange" Ekstraklasa. Dudu, who has been the main striker and captain for Sporting Clube de Goa over the last few years, has had a successful two week trial in which he scored nine goals in three matches.
::: St Xavier's Blues, DPS Pinjore in semis :::
by Balbir Singh: Hosts St Xavier's Blues (Panchkula), Ryan International-49 (Chandigarh), Delhi Public School (Pinjore) and Stone Brook School (Kalka) took their appointed place in the semifinals of the Chairman's Cup Soccer Tournament for Under-13 being organised by St Xavier's School of Panchkula at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Chandigarh.
Ankur Singh and Rahul Rana engineered St Xavier's (Blues), Panchkula, 4-0 victory over Gurukul, also of Panchkula by scoring two goals each in the quarterfinal encounter. Ankul got his two goals within a span of two minutes. He netted his goals in the 6th and 7th minutes. Rahul Rana struck in the 10th and 20th minutes.
Ryan International School, Sector 49 Chandigarh ended the challenge of Holly Child of Panchkula by 3-1. The highlight of the match was a brilliant hattrick by Piyush who scored in the 10th, 35h and 39th minutes. The lone goal for Holly Chand was scored by Pratanshu in the 13th minute. Delhi Public School of Pinjore, who got a bye in the first round, moved into last four at the expense of Alpine School, also of Pinjore by 2-0. Both goals came in the first half. Abhinav and Chityajit scored in the fourth and eighth minute.
In the last quarterfinal match Stone Brook School of Kalka defeated Little Flower Convent School of Panchkula by 1-0. The match-winner was scored by Nitin Kapoor in the fifth minute.
Earlier, in the preliminary round matches, Alpine School (Stanzin 7th, Rigzin 9th) beat St Xavier's Black, Panchkula by 2-0. With Ankur performing hat-trick (13th, 18th, 22nd minutes), St Xavier's Blues, Panchkula routed St Xavier's of Mohali by 4-1. Anju had put the winners ahead with a goal in the first minute. Stone Brook (Nitin Kapur, 5th) beat St Xavier's Chandigarh by 1-0. Ryan International beat Doon International Mohali by 1-0. Piyush scored the all-important goal.
Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Neerja Shekhar inauguated the tournament. Also present on the occasion was St Xavier's chairman Andrew John Gosain.
::: CNN-IBN Match Clip from Final & Baichung Bhutia Interview :::
A lot of you have been asking us for match clips and have especially asked for the goal that NP Pradeep scored last night to be put on our site as a clip. Sadly we have no own match clippings, but CNN-IBN has put a match report and a post match interview with Baichung Bhutia carried out by our friend Sanjeeb Mukherjea online. See the audiovisual report and enjoy!
>>> CNN-IBN Match Clip from Final & Baichung Bhutia Interview
Bangalore Super Division: SAI, Bangalore 1-2 Oriental FC - Goals: 1-0 N Madhukar (5'), 1-1 Rama Rao (17'), 1-2 Emmeul Raj (56').
Bangalore Super Division: BEL SC 2-1 Army Service Corps - Goals: 1-0 Stephen (14'), 1-1 Santosh (26'), 2-1 Musharraf (54').
14th Upendra Nath Brahma Gold Cup, Udalguri - Final: Assam Rifles 2-1 Assam State Electricity Board
::: Congratulations keep pouring in for Team INDIA after "ONGC" Nehru Cup triumph :::
We from IndianFootball.Com would like to once more congratulate Team INDIA on their maiden "ONGC" Nehru Cup title triumph!!!
And many of our site visitors have send in messages of support and have written how proud they are of you all.
The Indian parliament today congratulated the team on their "historic" win last night!
"The Indian Football Team has made the nation proud when they lifted the prestigious Nehru Cup after defeating formidable Syrians," Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said in Lok Sabha amid thumping of desks by members.
"The spirited performance by the Indian team will certainly usher in a new era in the Indian football. I am sure the House will join me in congratulating Captain Baichung Bhutia and his teammates for their historic win and wish them great success in their future matches," Chatterjee said during Zero Hour.
In the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), Chairman Hamid Ansari felicitated the team saying the victory would ensure a higher ranking for the country in FIFA.
Former Indian captain Chuni Goswami described the victory over Syria in the final as a "great moment" in the annals of Indian fotball history.
"We are all proud at the way Bob Houghton's boys played. My congratulations to Baichung Bhutia and his teammates," said Goswami.
Syed Nayeemuddin, who had lost the job of India national coach to Bob Houghton, said, "We now have to pick up from here. It is a historic win. The way Indian footballers played showed their self-confidence and their firm belief in themselves".
Former national coach Stephen Constantine send a message from Malawi, where he is now national coach, saying, "Well done lads. I am very pleased for you all! Hopefully now India can go on and get better."
::: 8th Martyrs' Trophy at Dimapur , Nagaland :::
by Xavier Rutsa: The 8th NSF Martyrs' Trophy, organized by Angami Students Union in honour and remembrance of its martyrs Lt. Kekuojalie Sachü and Lt. Vikhozo Yhosü will begin on September 28 at the DDSC Stadium, Dimapur in Nagaland.
ASU games and sports secretary, Thepfulie Theünuo said that ASU after deliberation have come up with the fervent proposal of organizing the 8th edition of NSF Martyr's Memorial Trophy at Dimapur for football fans of Dimapur to experience the mega event for the first time and called upon football lovers to come and be part of the sporting extravaganza.
Necessary information and details will be publicized and made available at the earliest while any pre-information can be availed from the sports secretary ASU - 94366/52845 or from the ASU office in Kohima, he added.
::: Mumbai FC U15 trials :::
New professional side Mumbai FC are set to hold trials for their Under-15 teams. The club plans to have a 'First' team to play in the "Manchester United Premier Cup 2008" plus two additional sides of talented youngsters, who would also get their necessary match exposure.
Only players born on or between 1.1.1993 and 1.1.1995 are eligible for the trials. The forms for the trials are available on the MumbaiFC.Com website and also at the Cooperage ground, St Xavier's Parel and Thakur College Gymkhana, Bombay Gym, Nerul Gymkhana. Registrations can be made between September 6 to 10 between 10 am to 1 pm and 3pm to 5 pm at PROFIT GYM above Thakur Cinema at the Thakur Complex, Kandivli East.
::: Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival - Meghna fashions for Carmel Convent win :::
by Balbir Singh: Carmel Convent of Sector 9 eked out a narrow 1-0 victory over hosts Saupin's School, Sector 32 in the final of the inaugural Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival for RF Saupin Trophy at the Saupin's School ground in Sector 32 here today. The all-important goal was scored by Meghna with an angular grounder from the left flank in the 11th minute against the run of play.
Cheered on by the hosts students, Saupin's School enjoyed the territorial supremacy. They did every thing except scoring. They had a number of opportunities to pierce the Carmel Convent goal. However, the Carmel Convent goalkeeper was not in a mood to relent. She gave an inspired display under the bar and saved a number of goals. On one occasion, the crosspiece came in Saupin's way. Despite all their brilliant efforts, a goal eluded the hots. Simply it was not Saupin's day today.
Meanwhile, Carmel Convent snatched the match-winner in the 11th minute. In a sudden move from the left flank against the run of play, Carmel Convent's top scorer Meghna unleashed a grounder from the left flank which kept the Saupin's goalkeeper Palhi rooted at one place.
Before the final, the Chandigarh FA, which organised the Festival for RF Saupin Trophy, conducted skill tests. In the target competition Shirika Kaul of Carmel Convent secured the first position while Rumanjot Kaur of St Stephen's-45 was runner-up. Neeti of Saupin's School excelled in dribbling to finish on top while Meghna of Carmel Convent secured second position. Navreet secured first position for Saupin's School in penalty kick competitions. Gurleen of St Stephen's was second.
Head Master Amarbir Singh Sidhu distributed the prizes.
August 29 |
IndianFootball.Com congratulate Team INDIA on their maiden "ONGC" Nehru Cup title triumph!!! |
::: LIVE COVERAGE - "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Final - Syria vs India :::
IndianFootball.Com's MATCH CENTER will be covering the Syria vs India match LIVE! The live updates will start at 17.45 IST (14.15 CET) with all the action from the Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi! So get the MATCH CENTER started and keep updated on the FINAL!
>>> LAUNCH THE INDIANFOOTBALL.COM MATCH CENTER
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Final - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Syria 0-1 INDIA
Goal: 0-1 Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (44').
SYRIA: 1-Musab Balhous; 3-Ali Dyab, 23-Firas Issmael, 13-Aatef Jenyat, 11-Khaled Mansoor Al Baba, 12-Mootassem Alaya (84' 18-Ali Al Rifayi), 15-Zain Al Fandy, 8-Mahmoud Al Amenah (46' 6-Ibrahim Al Hasan), 14-Wael Ayan; 20-Zyad Chaabo (88' 2-Anas Al Asaf), 9-Maher Al Sayed [C].
INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 6-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 7-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep, 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan (80' 22-Clifford Miranda); 11-Sunil Chetri (90+4' 10-Tarif Ahmed), 15-Baichung Bhutia [C] (90+2' 21-Abhishek Yadav).
RED CARD: Wael Ayan (45+5', Syria).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mahesh Gawli (India).
REFEREE: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Bangalore Super Division: SAI, Bangalore - Oriental FC = match abandoned due to rain
::: Madame President congratulates team, extra cash prizes announced :::
President Pratibha Patil congratulated the Indian football team for winning the "ONGC" Nehru Cup Tournament. Lok Sabha Speaker Somanth Chaterjee later called up Indian skipper Baichung Bhutia to congratulate the team for the triumph.
The team was also cheered by Indian sportstars like Cricketer Virender Sehwag and Hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay.
India received a winners' prize of USD 40,000 while the Syrians had to settle for half that amount.
There was further windfall for the Indians as ONGC announced a 100 percent bonus for them. Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit chipped in with Rs 500,000 while AIFF president Das Munshi announced a reward of Rs 1 Million.
::: Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival - Carmel Convent and Saupin's enter final :::
by Balbir Singh: Carmel Convent, Sector 9 and hosts Saupin's School-32 topped group A and B, respectively, and qualified for the final of the inaugural Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival for RF Saupin Trophy being organised by the Chandigarh FA at Saupin's School ground in Sector 32 here today.
Sacred Heart remained unbeaten in Group A and with nine points emerged the group leaders with nine points with an all-win record. In their four-team group matches, Carmel Convent beat Vivek High School-38 by 2-0; beat St Stephen's-45 by 1-0 and St Xavier's-44 by 4-0. They scored seven goals and conceded none.
There was a two-way tie in group A between hosts Saupin's School and Sacred Heart-26. Both had an identical points tally to seven points. However, Saupin's pipped Sacred Heart on the basis of goal difference. Saupin's scored nine and conceded one while Sacred Heart had seven in favour and one against. Saupin's and Sacred Heart had played one-all draw. Saupin's beat Banyan Tree School-48 by6-0 and Mount Carmel-47 by 2-0. Sacred Heart defeated Mount Carmel by 3-0 and Banyan Tree by 3-0.
The final will be played tomorrow at 9 a.m. Before the final, skill competitions would be organised.tomorrow. On the basis of their performance in the Chandigarh Festival, the CFA would be selecting 25 probables for coaching camp in preparation for Chandigarh's participation in the forthcoming AIFF Girls Under-13 Festival at Puri (Orissa).
Tanvi Bhargav hogged the limelight for Sacred Heart as she performed a hat-trick as her team beat Banyan Tree School, Sector 48 by 3-0. Tanvi scored in the 4th, 8th and 15th minutes.
Saupin's School outclassed Banyan Tree School by 6-0. Shivangi pumped in four goals in the 8th, 15th, 18th and 19th minutes. Kishmita (12th) and Kamalpreet (14th) contributed one goal each. Carmel Convent struggled to prevail over plucky St Stephen's by 1-0. The all important goal was scored by Meghna in the third minute.
Other results: Saupin's School (Kishmita 8th, 15th) bt Mount Carmel-47 2-0; Sacred Heart-26 (Harshjot 2nd, Tanvi Bhargav 8th and 17th) bt Mount Carmel-47 (Kirti 10th) by 3-1 and Carmel Convent-9 (Adrija 14th, Meghna 20th) bt Vivek High School-38 2-0.
::: IFC Interview with Novy Kapadia :::
The Indian national team has reached the finals of the Nehru Cup for the first time in the tournament's 25 years of existence and our Rhys Mascarenhas caught-up with Novy Kapadia, football commentator and expert, who has been following our national team for decades, to get his views on an improved Team India.
Click here to read the complete >>Novy Kapadia interview
Bangalore Super Division: ADE 0-3 Southern Blues FC - Goals: 0-1 Udaya Kumar (7'), 0-2,0-3 Nirmal Kumar (75',88').
Calcutta Premier League: Eastern Railway SC 1-0 George Telegraph SC - Goal: 1-0 Anthony Soren (80').
Calcutta Premier League: Calcutta Port Trust - Peerless SC = match called-off after a head injury to CPT keeper Prasanta Dora
::: Houghton brings new confidence to Indian football :::
IANS report: The sea change in the confidence level of Indian footballers due to new coach Bob Houghton has meant it's raining goals for India in the Nehru Cup international football tournament, where the hosts take on Syria in the final Wednesday. The Indian team has scored 12 goals and has let in just three from four matches in the tournament and it has come as a welcome sign, given the fact that last year the same team conceded 24 and struck only twice in six matches.
So is there some change in Indian football? If one delves into the matter it can easily be made out that there has been a sea change in the attitude and confidence of the players, thanks to new British coach Bob Houghton.
"I think after Bob took over there has been a sea change in the team. Never before I have found the team scoring so many goals against quality opponents with confidence," captain Baichung Bhutia told IANS.
"He has changed the mentality of the boys and he has also made everyone have a sense of pride in representing the country," said Bhutia.
The Indian captain went to the extent of saying the Houghton is the best coach he had in his life.
"I have trained under lots of coaches in India, England and Singapore. But I think he is the best coach I ever had in my life," Bhutia observed.
The Englishman prefers the 4-4-2 formation, which is the preferred style of play in British football but Bhutia maintained that during practice they don't stick to it. They keep changing it. Like any other team the midfield has been the main strength for India and both the flanks have supplied the forwards with some excellent crosses.
"We have improved a lot in cross balls and all these because of practice. But it is not that during practice session we only go on shooting the crosses but it is the formation that we stress on," said Bhutia.
"It is like that the centre midfielders will give the pass to the flanks who will cross it to the strikers in the box, and they will go up against the defenders to score the goals. So everyone in the team is pitted against each other," he said.
It wasn't a smooth start for the 58-year-old Englishman after he was appointed the chief coach of team India last year. India had lost 0-6 to Japan and went down 0-3 to lowly ranked Yemen in the qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup just before Houghton took over the reins of the team. The coach, of course, was coming with a huge reputation, having taken China to the World Cup finals. His first assignment in India was a four-team invitational tournament in Canada, where the Indians lost to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the opening game before defeating the Chinese U-20 team to finish third in the competition.
But back home more disappointment was in store as they went down 0-3 to Saudi Arabia in a home match of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Calcutta and in the return leg in Jeddah they were thrashed 7-1. Against Japan in Bangalore they lost 0-3 and it was followed by a 1-2 loss to Yemen in Saa'na, in which Houghton fielded a largely under-23 side, with an eye on the Asian Games.
It was a much-improved performance by the Indian team in the year-ending Doha Asian Games where they lost only one match to defending champions Iran by a 2-0 margin and drew their games with Hong Kong and Maldives.
Since then it has been a steady journey for the Englishman and his boys and the Nehru Cup tournament has been a revelation.
"Look what we were last year and what we are now. It is really a credit to Bob for changing the attitude of the players. Every player is well aware of his responsibility on the field and every one is thinking during the 90 minutes," said ace striker Sunil Chetri, who has scored four goals in the tournament.
All the players are keen to give credit to Houghton. They say the Englishman is an optimist at heart and has instilled the same thing in his boys.
"He never says anything if we lose. Bob is always talking about winning, which creates a feel good factor in the team," said Abhishek Yadav, whose scintillating goal from a solo run capped India's win against Kyrgyzstan in the Nehru Cup Sunday.
"Even if I make a mistake he will never scold me. The first thing he will say is that 'you played well, but I want you to do this thing better'. This is how he has instilled self belief in the players," said Yadav.
::: 10th Bhupinder Singh Memorial Football Tournament - Lawrence maintaining their winning spree :::
by Balbir Singh: Hosts The Lawrence School maintained their winning spree as they gave a soccer lesson to Yadvindra Public School, Patiala by 7-0 in their group B match of the 10th Bhupinder Singh Memorial Football Tournament being played at The Lawrence School ground in Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh. This was their second successive victory in the four-day tournament. On the opening day, they defeated their arch rival Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Today they owed their fluent triumph to Karan Hora who pumped in four goals. Penjo Wanchuk had given them the lead by converting a spot kick with a smooth action. Shanur Sharma and Abhimanyu Soin contributed one goal each.
Yadvindra Public School of Mohali and The Doon Schoo, Dehradun played one-all draw and split points in a pool A match.
Earlier, Bishop Cotton School of Shimla recorded their first win as they defeated Army Public School, Dagshai by 3-0 in a group B encounter. BPS today gave an improved display. They opened their account through vice-captain Pung Pung Tenzing in the 10th minute. Siddharth Sharma added one goal as the Shimla School led 2-0 at half time. On resumption Sri Pandey shattered the hopes of APS to come back into the game by adding another goal to swell BCS's tally.
Army Public School suffered their first defeat in two matches they have played so far. On day one, APS had beaten Yadvindra Public School of Patiala by 4-2.
In a group A encounter, Sherwood College of Nanital and Pinegrove School, Subathu played a goalless draw and split points. Both teams had their share of chances to score but their forwards were wayward in their shooting or the woodwork came in their way and a goal eluded them.
On the opening day, Sherwood School had beaten The Doon School of Dehradun by 1-0 and Pingrove School got the better of Yadvindra Public School of Mohali by 3-1.
::: Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival - Meghna hat-tricks for Carmel Convent :::
by Balbir Singh: A fine hattrick by Meghna Bhasin helped Carmel Convent School, Sector 9 outplayed St Xavier's, Sector 44 by 4-0 in a pool B match of the inaugural Chandigarh Girls Under-13 Football Festival for RF Saupin Trophy which began at Saupin's School ground in Sector 32, Chandigarh.
Dominating in the six-a-side match, Meghna Bhasin started her chase for three-in-a-row in the fifth minute. She completed her feat by scoring two more goals in the 10th and 12th minutes. In an effort to clear Eketa Geisinger's shot, Xavier's defender Anushka directed the ball into her own goal.
Hosts Saupin's School-32 and Sacred Heart-26 played a one-all draw in group A encounter. While Niti Sood converted a spot kick to put Saupin's School into the lead in the fifth minute, Tanvi restored parity for Sacred Heart in the 12th minute.
Mount Carmel School-47 logged full points at the expense of Banyan Tree School-48 by 2-0. Kirti scored the first goal for the winners in the fifth minute while Jagmohan Kaur made it beyond doubt with a 15th minute goal in group A fixture.
In the last match of the day, Vivek High School-38 blanked St Stephen's School-45 by 3-0. Shaira starred in Vivek's comfortable victory as she contributed two goals by scoring in the sixth and ninth minutes. Arushi completed Vivek's tally with a goal in the 15th minute.
Earlier, Head Master Amarbir Singh Sidhu inaugurated the tournament and he was also introduced to the teams. Also present on the occasion was Saupin School chairman Pierre L Saupin. On August 30, besides the final, skill tests would be conducted
The Chandigarh FA officials will be selecting 25 probables for a coaching camp to prepare the Chandigarh team for participation in the AIFF Girls Under-13 Soccer Festival to be held at Puri from October 22 to 30.
::: IFC Interview with Mayanti Langer/Debayan Sen (Zee Sports) :::
The Indian national team has reached the finals of the Nehru Cup for the first time in the tournament's 25 years of existence and our Rhys Mascarenhas caught-up with Mayanti Langer and Debayan Sen from Zee Sports, who through their work follow our national team closely, to get their views on an improved Team India.
Click here to read the complete >>Mayanti Langer/Debayan Sen (Zee Sports) interview
Bangalore Super Division: CIL 1-1 Royals SC - Goals: 1-0 Pradeep (7'), 1-1 Ranjith (83').
::: AIFF announce cash reward :::
After the Indian national football team reached the final of the 13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup last night with an impressive 3-0 victory against Kyrgyzstan, the AIFF has announced a cash reward of Rs 750,000 to the whole team. And more could be announced on wednesday, if the team actually wins the Nehru Cup in their maiden final appearance.
::: Calcutta Referee's call off their boycott :::
After a meeting between IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly and CRA secretary Kamal Sarkar today, the Calcutta Referee's Association has called-off their boycott to officiate matches. The IFA was able to clarify their position to use outstation referee's for the two weekend fixtures and everything would be back to normal from tomorrow again.
The postponed Calcutta Premier League matches in which Calcutta Port Trust face Peerless SC and Eastern Railway SC take on George Telegraph SC would be both held tomorrow to conclude the first leg of the Premier League.
::: Soccer Diary released :::
The ninth edition of the Soccer Diary, compiled and edited by Hem Chand, Veterans Football Club Secretary and Delhi Soccer Association Vice-President, is a highly impressive documentation of history and statistics of modern day football.
While several good books on cricket have been published in India, not many books on football records are easily available. Soccer Diary has definitely taken a step towards filling up the void.
Soccer Diary, which was released in a function in New Delhi on Monday, has the detailed record of all the World Cup, which will come handy for the keen students of the game. Apart from the results of each and every World Cup till date, the Soccer Diary has also dealt in length about the top scorers, best players, captains and unusual facts and figures of the World Cup.
The editor should also be commended for accommodating some of the rare photographs of the World Cup right from its first edition in 1930. It is hearting to note that he has managed to publish the photographs of each and every World Cup winning team, which is an asset for the book.
The Soccer Diary has also not neglected other top tournaments in the world and confederations associated with FIFA. The editor has also taken pain to compile results of all the major continental tournaments and FIFA age group championships.
The book's biggest quality is that it has not neglected Indian Football. This section of the book is rich with rare information and statistical inputs. S.A. Rahim, considered one of the greatest coaches India has ever seen, has been given his due. It has also pointed out the importance of players like PK Banerjee, SK Azizuddin and Peter Thangraj in Indian football.
The Soccer Diary has been dedicated to the memory of K.N. Mour, the former Honorary Secretary of the All India Football Federation.
On this occasion Delhi Veterans Football Club felicitated Novy Kapadia, noted football specialist for his commendable contribution to Indian Football and Neerav Tomar, CEO, IOS Pvt Ltd for his contribution to Delhi football.
::: 10th Bhupinder Singh Memorial Football Tournament - Opening day :::
by Balbir Singh: Karan Solanki held the spotlight by performing a hattrick on the opening day as Pinegrove School of Subathu outplayed Yadvindra Public School of Mohali by 3-1 in Pool A match of the 10th Bhupinder Singh Memorial Football Tournament at The Lawrence School ground in Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh.
Displaying brilliant dribbling skills and shooting power, Karan Solanki, getting good support from his colleagues, opened the account for Pinegrove School in the fifth minute. YPS Mohali fought back with a determination and neutralised the lead through Harpreet who scored in the 10th minute. Pinegrove School then pressed hard and Karan Solanki booted home two more goals to down YPS Mohali. The Pinegrove School forward Solanki then put his team ahead with a solo effort in the 22nd minute. Karan Solanki further increased the victory margin for Pinegrove School as he brilliantly executed a header after receiving a floater from the right flank.
Hosts The Lawrence School started their campaign with a bang as they defeated their traditional rivals Bishop Cotton School of Shimla by 3-1 in the second Pool A outing. Cheered by their colleagues The Lawrence School took just five minutes to forge ahead as Penjo Wanchuk caught the BCS defence on the wrong foot. The Lawrence School doubled the score through Nippon booted home a goal in the 13th minute. Despite down by two goals, Bishop Cotton School were not disheartened. With three minutes left in the match, Prithvi Thakur reduced the margin with a fine goal. The Lawrence School counter-attacked and Nippon foxed the BCS with a powerful shot and gave his team a well-deserved victory.
A brace by Gurmeet paved the way for Army Public School, Digshai to beat Yadvindra Public School of Patiala by 4-2. Spearheading the APS attack, Gurmeet drew the first blood for his school in the seventh minute. Maintaining pressure, APS made it 2-0 through Phunchok. The YPS Patiala boys reorganised their game and launched counter-attack. Their moves bore fruits in the18th minute as Udaybir Singh scored the first goal for his team. The Digshai boys further increased the margin through Lalit Kumar in the 45th minute. Gursimarpal netted the second goal for YPS in the 50th minute. Gurmeet rounded of the winners' tally in the 65th minute.
Sherwood College, Nainital eked out a narrow 1-0 win over The Doon School of Dehradun in the Group B fixture. The all-important goal was scored by Rajiv Gupta in a solo effort in the sixth minute.
Earlier, Col Sanjeev Sood inaugurated the tournament and took salute at the march-past by eight teams.
The Lawrence School captain Parath Goyal took the oath on behalf of the participating teams.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: INDIA 3-0 Kyrgyzstan
Goals: 1-0 Baichung Bhutia (39'), 2-0 Sunil Chetri (60'), 3-0 Abhishek Yadav (90'+3').
INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 6-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 7-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (56' 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan), 8-Renedy Singh (61' 22-Clifford Miranda); 11-Sunil Chetri, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C] (70' 21-Abhishek Yadav).
KYRGYZSTAN: 16-Maxim Agapov; 2-Vyacheslav Amin [C], 3-Talant Samsaliev, 4-Radik Vodopianov (75' 9-Roman Kornilov), 5-Sergey Kniazev, 12-Aibek Bokoev, 8-Vadim Harchenko, ??-Sergey Kniazev, 18-Pavel Sidorenko (63' 15-Timur Valiev), 20-Hurshil Lutfullaev (45' 14-Alambazek Mirzalive), 10-Ruslan Jamshidov.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Steven Dias (India).
REFEREE: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: Mohun Bagan AC 0-0 Mohammedan Sporting Club - Goals: none.
Mohun Bagan: 1-Sangram Mukherjee; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal (68' 8-Ayan Chowdhury), ?-Peter Odafe, 17-Anit Kumar Ghosh, 7-Rauf Sher Khan, 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick, 16-James Lukram Singh, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 18-Dharamjit Singh, 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 9-Pachau Lalam Puia (60' 11-Ishfaq Ahmed).
Mohammedan Sporting: Sheikh Nasibul Haque; Rajib Ahmed, Sheikh Azim, Ayeni Bedemi Daniel, Dipak Singh, C Shameel, A Jyothi Kumar, Basudeb Mondal, Prasanta Chakraborty (85' PT Somy), Kalia Kulothungan, Paul Macjames Nwachukwu (48' Nirapada Mondal, 90+2' V Prem Kumar).
Referee: Benjamin.
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 0-2 Postal Department - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Srinivas (41',81').
::: LIVE COVERAGE - "ONGC" Nehru Cup - India vs Kyrgyzstan :::
IndianFootball.Com's MATCH CENTER will be covering the India vs Kyrgyzstan match LIVE! The live updates will start at 18.45 IST (15.15 CET) with all the action from the Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi! So get the MATCH CENTER started and keep updated on the SUPER SUNDAY!
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::: Jose Barreto now involved in another off the ball incidence :::
Mohun Bagan's Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto was today involved in another controversial incidence. This time Mohammedan Sporting's Nirapada Mondal claims that Barreto slapped him in the players tunnel on the way from the ground to the dressing rooms in the Saltlake Stadium. Mohammedan Sporting have lodged an official complaint with match commissioner K Shankar.
Barreto meanwhile says that Nirapada Mondal spat at him thrice during the match and he pushed the Sporting player in the tunnel.
Barreto is said to have been involved in a similar incidence in the derby against East Bengal with claims from Madhab Das that the Brazilian spat on him.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Cambodia 1-5 Syria
Goals: 0-1 Mohamed Al Zeno (25'), 0-2 Zyad Chaabo (35'), 0-3,1-5 Maher Al Sayed (51',86'), 1-3 Teab Vadhanak (69'), 1-4 Aatef Jenyat (80').
Syria outclassed Cambodia 5-1 in their last round robin league match of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup and maintained their 100% winning record in the tournament. With this defeat Cambodia finished last in the tournament.
Both teams made a lot of changes from their last game. Syria made as many as seven changes in the starting eleven which they played against India. The first chance of the game came to Mohammad Al Zeno whose powerful shot was well held by the Cambodian keeper Pich Rovenyothin. Then in the 23rd minute Syria almost scored when Al Hasan's long ranger was superbly pulled out by the keeper. But two minutes later Al Zeno opened the scoring for Syria. Zyed Chaabo's pass was well collected by Al Zeno who broke the offside trap and finished it very well. Syria continued their attacking game and put Cambodia on the defensive. Syria doubled their advantage when Zyed Chaabo taking advantage of Pich's error. Al Zeno's shot was poorly cleared by the keeper and the ball fell to Chaabo who easily put the ball into the net. The first half ended as expected for Syria and Cambodia were really outplayed in all departments.
The second saw Cambodia playing a rough game as they weren't able to match the Syrians in any other way. They were lurching in on the Syrian players and as a result of this Mohammad Al Zeno was taken of in the 50th minute. In the very next minute Syria netted their third goal courtesy of a defensive error from Soun Thoun. A Syrian cross from midfielder Soun Thoun failed to clear of a header and it found the substitute Al Sayed on right who defeated the keeper and put the ball safely into the net. Cambodia tried to pull one back but failed to trouble the Syrian keeper on many occasions. But they pulled one back in the 69th minute through Teab Vadhanak who tapped in the ball from the right after Kim Chan's shot from the left was deflected by one of the Syrian defender. Amazingly it was the only shot on target for Cambodia in the entire match. Syria were still attacking but didn't test the Cambodian keeper. Then in the 81st minute Aatef Jenyat scored a spectacular goal to make it 4-1 for Syria. Firas Issamel gave a back pass to Jenyat who from left curled in a spectacular ball which the Cambodian keeper has no answer. Within five minutes Syria completed the rout when Al Sayed scored his second of the evening. Al Ameena's pass was collected by Al Sayed from the right and he netted the goal. The last minutes of the game was dominated by Cambodia. They got three good chances but two went wide and other was saved by Al Azhar.
Syria showed their class all throughout the game and issued a major threat ahead of the finals. Meanwhile Cambodia were humiliated again but they should be proud of their second half performance which caused some panic in the Syrian defence. Syria will await the winner of India v/s Kyrgyzstan to contest for the final of the ONGC Nehru Cup 2007.
CAMBODIA: 13-Pich Rovenyothin, 2-Chan Dara (83' 6-Om Thavrak), 3-Kim Chan Bonrith, 4-Thul Southearith, 5-Soun Thoun, 7-Oum Veasna, 15-Sam Minar (46' 8-Keo Kosal), 18-Pok Chan Than [C], 17-Hok Sotitya (68' 12-Khim Borey), 11-Teab Vadhanak, 9-Samel Nasa.
SYRIA: 25-Radwan Al Azhar [C], 2-Anas Al Asaf, 5-Adeeb Barakat, 6-Ibrahim Al Hasan, 7-Mohamed Al Zeno (50' 13-Aatef Jenyat), 15-Zain Al Fandy, 12-Mootassem Alaya (46' 23-Firas Issmael), 8-Mahmoud Al Amenah, 18-Ali Al Rifayi, 19-Majd Aldden Homsi, 20-Zyad Chaabo (46' 9-Maher Al Sayed [C]).
YELLOW CARD: Samel Nasa (45'+3', Cambodia).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mahmoud Al Amenah (Syria).
REFEREE: Pepera Hetti Kamkanamge (Sri Lanka).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: East Bengal Club 1-1 Chirag United SC - Goals: 0-1 Sasthi Duley (13'), 1-1 Vimal Pariyar (14').
East Bengal: 21-Abhra Mondal; 20-Haobijam Napoleon Singh, 3-Abdul Samed Okocha (45' 12-Anupam Sarkar), 2-Muttath Suresh, 29-Saumik Dey; 39-Ratan Das (72' 40-Vanlal Rova), 7-Jayanta Sen, 37-Marlanki Suting (62' 10-Dipendu Biswas), 9-Alvito D'Cunha, 25-Ashim Biswas, 22-Vimal Pariyar.
Chirag United: Arindam Ghosh; Dulal Biswas, Kingshuk Debnath, Louis Nigi Ebami, R Dhanarajan, Gouranga Dutta, Achinta Saha (90+1'Safar Sardar), Mrinmoy Chakraborty, Sasthi Duley (86' Surajit Chakraborty), Shankar Oroan, Theodore Sunday Wrobeh.
Referee: K Shankar (Tamil Nadu).
Bangalore Super Division: LRDE 1-0 Department of Youth Services&Sports - Goal: 1-0 S Satish (44').
::: "ONGC" Nehru Cup - do or die for India and Kyrgyzstan :::
Who will make it to the final of the 13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup against Syria? It is a question which every football fan wants to know. The two team fighting for a place against Syria are India and Kyrgyzstan.
Both the teams have six points from three matches but when we look at the goal difference India is in a better position than Kyrgyzstan. India has scored 9 goals and conceded 3 on the other hand Kyrgyzstan has scored 8 goals and conceded 7 goals. Statistics too are favouring India. If India can hold Kyrgyzstan to a draw then also the Indian team can make it to the finals. But these are just the possibilities which may happen. 90 minutes of football are still to be played.
When we look at the performance of both teams in the tournament, one can easily find that India has an edge over Kyrgyzstan. Their graph is moving upward as far as the performance of the team is concerned, on the other hand Kyrgyzstan had ups and down in the tournament. But yet they shouldn't be taken lightly. They are technically more sound than India, but India's spirited performance in this tournament can't be ignored so far. Injury has been a cause of concern for Bob Houghton and the Indian team. Their most dependable stopper Deepak Mondal is injured and out for the tournament.
The key players for India are captain Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri, Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda, Mahesh Gawli ,Steven Dias ,and the very dependable goalkeeper Subrato Pal, who all seem to be in good touch till now and performing well for the team. On the other hand Kyrgyzstan is not lacking behind as far as the individual performances are concerned .players like Lutfullaev, Ruslan Jamshidov, Vadim Harchenko, Bakytbek Mamatov have already proved their presence in the tournament. Its do or die for the Indian team and team has to put up their till date best performance in order to outplay this Kyrgyzstan side.
Tomorrow will show which is better of the two sides. One can hope that Indian team should come out with flying colours and give a reason to smile to all their fans and the people of India.
::: Calcutta Referee's to boycott local matches :::
The Calcutta Referee's Association has decided to boycott all local Calcutta league matches from tomorrow in protest against the decision of the IFA to name outstation referee's to officiate in this weekends fixtures in which the big Maidan three are in action.
This decision by the CRA has forced the IFA to postponed tomorrow's two other Calcutta Premier League matches in which Calcutta Port Trust face Peerless SC and Eastern Railway SC take on George Telegraph SC. Also four Super Division have been called-off. What will happen to Monday's lower division matches will have to be seen tomorrow.
A meeting between IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly and CRA secretary Kamal Sarkar has been set for Monday to find a solution to the impasse.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Kyrgyzstan 3-0 Bangladesh
Goals: 1-0,2-0 Hurshil Lutfullaev (28',54'), 3-0 Rushlan Djamshidov (57').
KYRGYZSTAN: Maskim Agapov; Talant Samsaliev (25' Timur Valiev), Viacheslav Amin, Radik Vodopianov, Sergei Kniazev (36' Rustamjan Zakirov), Vadim Harchenko, Hurshil Lutfullaev, Ruslan Djamshidov, Aibek Bokoev, Bakytbek Mamatov, Pavel Sidorenko.
BANGLADESH: 1-Biplab Bhattacharjee; 3-Waly Faisal, 5-Kazi Nazural Islam [C], 4-Rajani Kanta Barman, 2-Firoj Mahmud Hossain; 12-Zahid Hossain (31' ?-Zahid Choudhary), 6-Ariful Islam (33' ?-Atiquir Rehman), 7-Arman Aziz, 14-Abul Hussain; 10-Alfaz Ahmed (63' 8-Mehedi Hasan Uzzal), 9-Jahid Hasan Ameli.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Hurshil Lutfullaev (Kyrgyzstan).
REFEREE: S Suresh (India).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the
>>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Bangalore Super Division: MEG 1-0 ADE - Goal: 1-0 Arun Singh (70').
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami 0-0 Aryan Club
::: Deepak Mondal's injury is serious :::
Indian defender Deepak Kumar Mondal's injury is much more serious then many thought. After being examined by well-known Dr.Anant Joshi in Mumbai today, Deepak has being advised to undergo surgery to rectify an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Dr. Joshi will operate on Deepak's knee on September 20 in Calcutta and he could be out for four month's or even more.
::: Performance against Syria good omen for Lebanon tie :::
PTI report: Squaring up against Syria twice in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament will help India in the World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon, feels national coach Bob Houghton. India take on Lebanon in home and away matches on October 8 and 28 in the first round of the road to South Africa 2010 and the creditable performance against the much higher ranked Syrians has sparked optimism in Houghton's mind.
India ran Fajer Ibraahim's side close despite going down 2-3 in a well contested match and are likely to get another crack at them in the final.
"Syria are a quality side with some very good players. If we can be this competitive against them, we can hope for a good result against Lebanon," the Englishman said.
The coach gave the day off to the players, who took the field in the high tempo match last evening at the Ambedkar Stadium. However, the reserves sweated it out under Houghton's watchful eyes at Janki Devi Memorial College.
Syria are ranked 112th in the FIFA charts while India are placed as low as 151. A good performance in the ongoing tournament could see India improve to get close to Lebanon's 135th spot.
"We played very well in the first two matches (against Cambodia and Bangladesh) and also against Syria. They were the slightly better side and deserved to win. But we ran them close and could have also won," Houghton said.
Houghton added that the team's think tank had learnt a few things which could help it get the better of the Syrians if they face off in the final but they were focusing on the next game. "But our whole attention is on our next game against Kyrgyzstan and we are only thinking about that," he said.
India has a much better goal difference and a draw in the last round robin match against the Central Asians will get hosts to the title match. But Houghton is not going down that route.
"You cannot go into a match thinking not to lose. That is a recipe for disaster. We would go for a win but a draw should be good enough for us." The coach admitted that there were some mistakes in the defence against Syria and also the strike pairing of Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chetri were not always in sync.
::: 29th Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup to see top Indian clubs in action :::
The 29th Sikkim Governor's Gold Cup Football Tournament will be held at the Paljor Stadium in Gangtok from September 22 to October 7. A number of top club sides from across India are set to take part. Amongst them are nine time record champions Mohun Bagan AC, defending champions Air-India, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Chirag United SC, Army XI, JCT, Punjab Police, Titanium XI, Tata Football Academy, Assam State Electricity Board, Tibetan National F.A and Sikkim XI. The organisers are trying to invite a team each from neighbouring Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: INDIA 2-3 Syria
Goals: 1-0 Sunil Chetri (13'), 1-1 Khaled Mansoor Al Baba (23'), 1-2,1-3 Zyed Chaabo (45'+1',65'), 2-3 Krishnan Nair Ajayan (81').
India went down 2-3 to Syria in the most exciting match of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup 2007 so far. Syria looked in comfort when they were leading 3-1 till the 80th minute but India pulled one back and made Syria work hard for their win. With this win Syria booked their place in the finals and will meet either India or Kyrgyzstan next wednesday.
India like every game started attacking right from the first minute of the game. India's first attempt on goal came when captain Baichung Bhutia's shot was just wide of the post but it was later given as hand ball on Sunil Chetri. On the other side Syria almost took the lead when Al Zeno crouched on a pass from left but Subrata Pal stepped forward and made a very good save. Then in the 13th minute through Sunil Chetri India took the lead. Climax Lawrence fed the ball to right which found Chetri whose shot from left kissed the Syrian keepers hands and went to right side of the net. The goal surprised Syria and they went in search for the equaliser. Al Zeno was on goal in the 16th minute but was tackled out well in the penalty box by the Indian right back Surkumar Singh. But India conceded their first goal in the tournament when Khaled Mannsoor Al Baba headed in a nice goal from a corner. Both Manju and Surkumar went for the same ball but failed to stop Al Baba from netting the equalizier. India seemed to loose the control of the match and almost conceded the second goal when Aatef Jenyat chip from outside the box which was spectacularly saved by Subrata Pal. Syria was attacking and India were in the defensive. Baichung Bhutia was tightly marked by two Syrian defenders and did get some chances but those were off target. India's last chance of the half came when Climax Lawrence shot a long ranger but was easily saved by Musab Balhous. Then in injury time of the half Syria scored and it was Zyad Chaabo who netted the goal. Maher Al Sayed who made a run from the left found unmarked Chaabo who tapped in the ball with ease. India who started the game brightly found themselves facing a huge task in the second half.
India started the second half very well. NP Pradeep got this first chance of the half when Steven Dias found him unmarked but his long ranger from the right was off target. In the other end Al Zeno saw his shot going wide. Al Zeno got another opportunity in the 64th minute when he dispossessed Mahesh Gawli and surged ahead but Surkumar Singh disposed him with a good tackle. But Syria scored their goal off the night when Zyad Chaabo took a shot from outside of the penalty box which got a deflection of Surkumar on the way and sailed past the Indian keeper. The third goal almost threw away India's chance of securing maximum points from the match. Bob Houghton then substituted Clifford Mirinda who's performance was rather disappointing with Krishnan Nair Ajayan. In the 81st minute of the game India pulled one back courtesy of a spectacular goal from Ajayan who shot a long ranger from 30 yards out which beat the Syrian keeper. India then went surging ahead to find the equaliser and they came close when Steven Dias' freekick went just outside of the right post. India were pressing on for an equaliser and they came close when a Manju throw-in from right found Bhutia but his shot was well over the bar but there were shouts for a handball on a Syria's defender but not given. Syria were using tactics to waste time and Bob Houghton on the sidelines was furious with the referee on numerous occasions. In the last minute of the game NP Pradeep almost equalised for India when his 20 yards shot was brillanty pulled out by the Syrian keeper.
The Indian defence was really open and was prone to attacks from the Syrian strikers. The Indian team lacked coordination today and when India conceeded the goal they lost their game and went more defensive. But when Ajayan pulled a goal back India gave a fight till the end. Syria on the other hand played a fantastic game. They passed really well, kept possession and scored whenever they attacked the Indian half. Now India will now face Kyrgyzstan on Sunday meaning that a win or draw will help to meet Syria on the finals of the championship. While Syria will take on Cambodia on Saturday.
INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 6-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 7-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (90'+5' 21-Abhishek Yadav), 22-Clifford Miranda (70' 4-Krishnan Nair Ajayan); 11-Sunil Chetri, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C].
SYRIA: 1-Musab Balhous; 3-Ali Dyab, 7-Mohamed Al Zeno, 15-Zain Al Fandy, 12-Mootassem Alaya (75' ??-Mahmoud Al Amenah), 11-Khaled Mansoor Al Baba, 14-Wael Ayan (71' ??-Ibrahim Al Hasan), 13-Aatef Jenyat (80' Ali Al Rifayi), 20-Zyad Chaabo, 9-Maher Al Sayed, ?-Firas Issmael.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Zyad Chaabo (Syria).
REFEREE: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: Mohammedan Sporting Club 3-2 Eastern Railway SC - Goals: 0-1 Bapi Haldar (9'), 1-1,3-1 A Jyothi Kumar (25',56'), 2-1 Paul Macjames Nwachukwu (54'), 3-2 Santanu Bit (80' pen).
Mohammedan Sporting: Sheikh Nasibul Haque; Rajib Ahmed, Sheikh Azim, Ayeni Bedemi Daniel, Mir Farooq Hyder (63' Dipak Singh), A Jyothi Kumar, Basudeb Mondal (78' Roque Barreto), Prasanta Chakraborty, Mohammed Muneer KP (46' Nirapada Mondal), Paul Macjames Nwachukwu, KP Zubair.
Eastern Railway: Kalyan Lodh (41' Tapan Kumar Karmakar); Bidesh Pal. Santanu Bit, Dipankar Ghosh, Sanjit Dutta Bhowmick, Bapi Haldar, Bapan Bera, Joydeep Bose, Mohammed Nadeem (58' Chandan Turi), Fulchand Hembram (70' Basudeb Mandi), Benjamin.
Referee: Udayan Haldar.
Bangalore Super Division: BEML (EM) 4-1 Southern Blues FC - Goals: 1-0 Gopi (8'), 2-0 Khalendar (59'), 2-1 Udaya Kumar (61'), 3-1,4-1 Wilfred (62',67').
Goa Professional League: Raia Sporting Club 0-0 Vasco SC - Goals: none.
Goa Professional League: Velsao Pale SC 2-2 MPT Sports Council - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Selrino Gonsalves (30',33'), 2-1 Casmiro Peixoto (36'), 2-2 Joseph Dias (78').
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: FCI, Guwahati 2-0 Assam State Electricity Board - Goals: 1-0 Bhaskar Jyoti Bora (28'), 2-0 Thomson Langthasa (83').
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: Assam Police Blues (walkover) Jewel Star Club
::: 29th Federation Cup draw out :::
The draw for the 29th Federation Cup was carried out today at the Post Match Conference Room of the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on the sidelines of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup. The 29th Federation Cup will be held in Ludhiana from September 4 to 15.
On the opening day the inaugural match will see Phagwara's JCT face Vasco SC from Goa, while that evening East Bengal Club face Mohammedan Sporting in a Calcutta derby away from home. Defending champions Mohun Bagan AC will face debutants ONGC, Mumbai; while National League champions Dempo SC face aspiring Chirag United SC. In other match-ups Air.India face Viva Kerala; Salgaocar SC face Churchill Brothers SC in the other derby of the pre-quarterfinals, this one being a Goan one. Mahindra United take on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited SC, while last year finalists Sporting Clube de Goa take on Army XI again, whom they trashed 4-0 in last years opening round
For the complete 29th Federation Cup fixtures
::: Jo Paul Ancheri to play for Viva Kerala :::
Former Indian international Jo Paul Ancheri has signed for Kerala's premier football team Viva Kerala until the end of the season. Viva Kerala, who will play their first season at the top Indian club level, hope that Ancheri will bring the necessary experience to compete at the top level. For Ancheri the signing for Viva Kerala marks a return to the top level of Indian after being out of the scene due to injury for some years.
::: INDIA now 151st in FIFA World Rankings :::
In the latest FIFA World Rankings, which were released by the world football governing body today, INDIA have moved up 11 places to 151st amongst the 208 ranked nation. INDIA now have 99 pts adding 25 points to their tally and moved from 32nd to 26th in the Asian rankings.
The sharp rise was possible due to the fact that INDIA's 6-0 win over Cambodia in the "ONGC" Nehru Cup was taken into the calculations. With the win against Bangladesh and hopefully more good results to follow INDIA could be seen rising further in the FIFA rankings in the coming month.
But sadly the rise comes a few weeks to late as the Asian qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have been drawn.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Bangladesh 1-1 Cambodia
Goals: 1-0 Abul Hussain (30'), 1-1 Keo Kosal (90').
Cambodia held Bangladesh to a one-all draw in the sixth match of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup 2007. With this draw both teams are left without a chance to reach the tournament finals as both teams have got only one point from 3 games they have played.
The starting minutes of the games saw the ball more in the midfield. The first attempt on goal came in 22nd minute when Jahid Hasan Ameli, who one against one with goalkeeper Pich Rovenyothin, attempted to strike the ball into the net but the Cambodia goalkeeper came out and saved it brilliantly. Then Bangladesh came closer in taking the lead when Ariful Islam chipped the ball from 15 yards out which was superbly pulled out by the Cambodian keeper, but from the resulting corner Bangladesh took the lead. The corner was nicely curled in by the Bangladesh veterant player Alfaz Ahmed and it was Abul Hussain who headed in Bangladesh's first goal of the tournament. The goal was a result of Bangaldesh's continued pressure on Cambodia. The first half ended with Bangladesh keeping the upper hand in the match and almost ensured Cambodia's exist from the tournament.
The second half saw a much better performance from Cambodia as they attacked Bangladesh but failed to test the Bangladesh keeper on numerous ocassions. There were occasional attacks from the Cambodians but Bangladesh strengthed their defence and cleared most attacks with ease. But then in the 90th minute came a heart breaker for Bangaldesh when Keo Kosal netted in the equaliser. Keo Kasal received a pass from Samel Nasa and his shot broke the Bangladesh hearts. The game ended with Cambodia burying Bangladesh's slim hopes of entering the tournament finals.
Bangladesh did deserve a win for the chances they created in the game but Cambodia scored when they got their chance. The draw meant that both team are out of reaching the finals and will be fighting for places 3 to 5. Bangladesh will face Kyrgyzstan on Friday and Cambodia will face Syria on Saturday.
BANGLADESH: 1-Biplab Bhattacharjee; 3-Waly Faisal, 5-Kazi Nazural Islam [C], 4-Rajani Kanta Barman, 2-Firoj Mahmud Hossain; 12-Zahid Hossain, 6-Ariful Islam, 7-Arman Aziz, 14-Abul Hussain; 10-Alfaz Ahmed (57' 11-Mohammed Robin, 82' 8-Mehedi Hasan Uzzal), 9-Jahid Hasan Ameli.
CAMBODIA: Pich Rovenyothin; Chan Dara, Kim Chan Bonrith, Om Thavrak, Chan Rithy, Teab Vathnak, Sun Sovannarith (67' Sam El Nasa), Sam Minar (81' Keo Kosal), Hok Sotitya (58' Chan Chaya), Pok Chan Than, Tieng Tiny.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Abul Hussain (Bangladesh).
REFEREE: A Arjunan (India).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: East Bengal Club 1-0 George Telegraph SC - Goal: 1-0 Ashim Biswas (7').
East Bengal: 21-Abhra Mondal; 35-Aibor Khongjee (5' 17-Surya Bikash Chakraborty; 69' 12-Anupam Sarkar), 3-Abdul Samed Okocha, 2-Muttath Suresh, 29-Saumik Dey; 6-Dipankar Roy, 7-Jayanta Sen, 37-Marlanki Suting, 32-Snehashish Chakraborty (60' 11-Hardip Singh Saini), 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal, 25-Ashim Biswas.
George Telegraph: Arnab Das Sharma; Asto Karar, Eric Erhisennobe Jenue, Gour Naskar, Biswajit Saha, Satyajit Bose, Subha Kumar, Upendra Kumar Singh, Pradip Roy (79' Samar Deb), Paban Das (21' Nurudeen Saleh Olawale, 83' Aksar Ali), Gautam Thakur.
Referee: Dhanapati Roy.
Bangalore Super Division: Oriental FC 0-7 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goals: 0-1,0-2,0-3 M Satish Kumar (15',43',45'), 0-4 Bimal Minz (48'), 0-5,0-7 C Prakash (61',84'), 0-6 James Effiong (77').
Calcutta Premier League: Chirag United SC 1-0 Calcutta Port Trust - Goal: 1-0 Theodore Sunday Wrobeh (55').
Goa Professional League: Salgaocar SC 2-0 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals: 1-0 Milagres Gonsalves (77'), 2-0 Badmus Baba Thunde (87').
Goa Professional League: Dempo SC 2-0 Sporting Clube de Goa - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Chidi Edeh (23',??').
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: NF Railway SC 0-1 Sunrise Club - Goal: 0-1 Tia Sunip (51').
::: 29th Federation Cup draw tomorrow :::
The draw for the 29th Federation Cup, which will be held in Ludhiana from September 4 to 15, will be held tomorrow at the Post Match Conference Room of the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on the sidelines of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup.
India's top 16 teams will be in the draw for India's Premier knockout tournament to be held the first time in Punjab.
::: Calcutta Premier League's weekend matches to be officiated by outstation referees :::
After much controversy about the standard of refereeing in the ongoing Calcutta Premier League, the IFA has decided to use the services of outstation referee's for the weekend fixtures of the Calcutta Premier League, East Bengal - Chirag United SC (Saturday) and Mohun Bagan - Mohammedan Sporting (Sunday).
The IFA has asked for the help from the AIFF to get the services of the best available Indian referee's. After the weekend an accessment will be made, to see if the Calcutta referee's are currently not upto the mark or if the widespread criticism is uncalled for.
::: Deferred Goa Pro League after Federation Cup :::
The Round 2 & 3 matches of the Goa Pro League which had to be postponed due to heavy monsoon rains, will be held after the end of the Federation Cup on September 15. The Goa FA had wanted to play the matches around the turn of the month, but the Goan sides participating in the upcoming Federation Cup had asked for more time to prepare for the Fed Cup, The GFA agreed and will set the matches for the second half of September.
::: 30th Sub-Junior U16 Nationals draw is out :::
26 state teams will vie for top honours in the 30th Sub-Junior National Football Championship 2007 for the Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy to be held in Haldwani, Uttarakhand from September 16 to October 7. The teams have been divided into eight Clusters. The winner of each Cluster will qualify for the quarterfinal league, which will be played from September 29 to October 3. The semifinals will be played on October 5 and final is slated for October 7.
Delhi meets Madhya Pradesh in its inaugral match on September 16 while Kerala takes on Chhattisgarh, Karnataka meets Himachal Pradesh on the same day.
Cluster 1: Uttarakhand, Pondicherry, Gujarat; Cluster 2: West Bengal, Chandigarh, Tripura; Cluster 3: Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya; Cluster 4: Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh; Cluster 5: Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Chhattisgarh; Cluster 6: Manipur, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand; Cluster 7: Goa, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir; Cluster 8: Mizoram, Orissa, Punjab.
::: 30th Sub-Junior U16 Nationals - Goa FA names probables :::
The following boys have been selected to attend the Goa U16 camp to select the Goa State team which will participate in the 30th Sub-Junior U16 National Football Championship is scheduled to be played from September 16 to October 7 at Haldwani, Uttaranchal.
The selected boys are requested to report at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday, August 25, at 15.30 IST with their full kit.
GOA U16 probables: Myron Fernandes, Shane Temudo, Pandari Chopdekar, Elroy Da Silva, Jesvil De Souza, Philiono Ratos, Shariq D'Silva, Royston Fernandes, Francis Coutinho, Mario Lobo, Meldon D'Silva, Michael Silva, Adney Fernandes, Shilton Fernandes, Velfrax Furtado, Brandon Fernandes, Fernando Colaco, Joel Menezes Gama, Velento Fernandes, Enfal Vaz, Denzil Bajaj, Alwyn Fernandes, Abel Maithai, Dahle Maithai, Bharat Thapa, Albino Gomes.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Syria 4-1 Kyrgyzstan
Goals: 1-0 Maher Al Sayed (7'), 1-1 Ali Dyeb (13', own Goal), 2-1 Zyad Chaabo (44'), 3-1 Mohammed Al Zeno (70'), 4-1 Abrahiem Al Hasan (82').
Syria took a giant step towards reaching the finals of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup 2007 by thrashing Kyrgyzstan 4-1 tonight. Syria dominated most of the match and didn't give too many chances for Kyrgyzstan in the game. The win made Syria occupy the second position in the table with six points behind India only on goal difference and making it difficult for Kyrgyzstan to make it now to the Finals.
Both teams started brightly in the game but the first chance of the game came to Syria in the 2nd minute when Al Baba's shot from 15 yards out went over the bar. Then only in the 7th minure Syria took the lead courtesy of an error from a Kyrgyzs defender. Mohammad Al Zeno's cross from right was headed back by the Kyrgyzstan defender to Maher Al Sayed of Syria who dribbled past a defender and drilled the ball into the left of the post. Within minutes Kyrgyzstan equalized when there happened a communication failure between Syrian Goalkeeper Mowssab Blahowss and their defender Ali Dyeb. Ali Dyeb who tried to give a back pass to their keeper who was ended shooting ball into his own net. After Kyrgyzstan equalised Syria surged ahead to once more take the lead. But Kyrgyzstan came close to take the lead themselves when Bakytbek Mamatov who curled in a shot from left which was just wide of the post. But just before half time it was Syria who took the lead through Zyad Chaabo. It was Mohammad's Al Zeno's cross from the right which found Chaabo, who was unmarked headed the ball nicely into the left side of the net. So the first half ended with Syria taking the decisive lead in the game and leaving Kyrgyzstan with a huge task.
The second half was complete domination by Syria. Syria attacked Kyrgyzstan at their will and had some great chances but it was not enough to test the Kyrgyzstan keeper. Then in the 70th minute Mohammed Al Zeno made it 3-1 for Syria. Maher Al Sayed chipped in a ball to Al Zeno who placed the ball into the left side of the net. It was a good finish from the Syrian midfielder who had a strong match. Then in the 82nd minute the substitute Abhraiem Al Hasan added the fourth goal for Syria. Al Zeno shot the ball from the right which was well saved by the Kyrgyzstan keeper, but it only rebounded to Al Hasan who just tapped the ball into the net. The match ended without any more chances for both teams.
Syria really put their best foot forward after an unsatisfactory performance against Bangaldesh. They took advantage of mistakes in the Kyrgyzstan defence. The first two goals came as result of their defensive lapses. The performances of the Syrian Captain Maher Al Sayed and midfielder Mohammad Al Zeno were the highlights of the match. On the other hand Kyrgyzstan's performance was really disappointing. Their defence let them down when they most needed them. Now Syria will take on India on Thursday while Kyrgyzstan will face Bangladesh on Friday.
SYRIA: Mowssab Blahowss; Ali Dyeb, Mohammed Al Zeno, Zeen Alabeden Al Fandi, Mootassem Alaya, Khaled Mannsoor Al Baba, Wael Ayan (71' Abrahiem Al Hasan), Aatef Jenyat (68' Ali Al Rifaai), Zyad Chaabo (83' Mahmoud al Amena), Maher Al Sayed, Feras Esmaeel.
KYRGYZSTAN: Valeri Kahsuba, Talant Samsaliev, Viacheslav Amin (65' Timur Valiev), Sergei Kniazev, Bakytbek Mamatov, Aibek Bokoev, Davron Askarov (74' Pavel Sidorenko), Vadim Harchenko, Ruslan Djamshidov, Roman Kornilov, Hurshil Lutfullaev (47' Ildar Amirov).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Maher Al Sayed (Syria).
REFEREE: S Suresh (India).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: Peerless SC 2-3 Mohun Bagan AC - Goals: 0-1 Peter Siddiqui (26'), 0-2 Jose Ramirez Barreto (44' pen), 1-2 Subair Muritala Ali (63'), 2-2 Kartick Kisku (70'), 2-3 Shamugam Venkatesh (88').
Peerless: Rakesh Prasad; Zoheb Hassan, Dibyendu Panja, Saheb Ali (77' Buddha Maity), Tarak Roy, Gouranga Biswas, Ugwo James Agbo, Sovan Das (46' Sanjib Ghosh), Arup Singha (46' Kartick Kisku), Babin Biswas, Subair Muritala Ali.
Mohun Bagan: 31-Shilton Pal; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal, 12-Peter Siddiqui, ?-Peter Odafe, 2-Subhashish Roy Chowdhury (57' Muttath Sudheesh); 16-James Lukram Singh, 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick (64' 27-Suman Datta), 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 18-Dharamjit Singh, 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 9-Pachau Lalam Puia (74' 11-Ishfaq Ahmed).
Referee: Rathin Mukherjee.
Bangalore Super Division: CIL 1-2 BEL SC - Goals: 1-0 Pradeep (14'), 1-1 Srinivasan (80'), 1-2 Suman (89').
Calcutta Super Division: West Bengal Police 4-2 SAIL
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami 2-0 FCI, Calcutta
Calcutta Super Division: Calcutta Customs 0-0 Police AC
Calcutta Super Division: Aryan Club 0-0 Indian Air Force, Barrackpore
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: Assam Dynamo Club (walkover) SAI SC, Guwahati
::: INDIA set to miss Deepak Mondal against Syria :::
INDIA has so far not conceeded a goal in the 180plus minutes they have played, but on Thursday against Syria they will face their first real test. And Mahesh Gawli will be missing his partner Deepak Kumar Mondal at the heart of defence. In an MRI scan carried out today on Deepak's knee it was found that he has accumulated water in his knee, which could keep him out for the rest of the tournament.
Midfielder NP Pradeep is set to return to the starting eleven after having recovered from injury.
::: Lebanese FA decline AIFF request for change of 2010 World Cup qualifier dates :::
The Federation Libanaise de Football Association has not accepted the request by the AIFF for adjustment of dates of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches between India and Lebanon.
Consequently the matches will be played on October 8 in Beirut, Lebanon and on the October 28 in India. The venue of India's home match will be finalized in the next few days by the AIFF with chief coach Bob Houghton preferring the new Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi.
The negative reply by the Lebanese FA to their request has put the AIFF is a fix about the launch of the Pro League, which was set to kick-off on September 30, but now a date in November looks more likely and if India do get past Lebanon and have to play the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, then the Pro League launch might have to be delayed even more.
::: 30th Sub-Junior U16 Nationals - Delhi Teams Trials Cum Selection :::
The Delhi Soccer Association will hold open trials cum coaching camp from August 23 to select the state team for participation in the Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy. The 30th Sub-Junior U16 National Football Championship is scheduled to be played from September 16 to October 7 at Haldwani, Uttaranchal.
The trials cum coaching camp start on August 23 from 4 pm onwards at Central Secretariat ground, near Ashoka Hotel, Chankya Puri.
Intrested probables may report to Mr OP Malhotra (98913-42223) or Manoj Chaudhury (98114-08292) at the venue along with their original birth certificate. The boys born on or after 01.01.1993 are eligible for the selection camp.
Prior to the participation in the Sub-Junior Nationals, the DSA will also prepare a U17 team for participation in the 5th Administrators Challenge Cup Football Tournament beginning from September 1 to 9 at Chandigarh. The Players born on or after 01.01.1990 are eligible to attend the camp starting from August 23 and may also report at the venue along with their original certificate.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: INDIA 1-0 Bangladesh
Goal: 1-0 Baichung Bhutia (5').
India registered their second win in the 13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup by overcoming a bravely fighting Bangladesh. India overcame Bangladesh by a solitary goal scored by captain Baichung Bhutia in the 5th minute of the match. India now have six points from two matches and would likely need another point to reach the Nehru Cup final for the first time in the history of the tournament.
India as against Cambodia started attacking from the onset. The first chance of the game came to Steven Dias whose shot from right was blocked by a Bangladeshi defender. Then in the 5th minute India took the lead through an oppurtunistic Baichung Bhutia. A Steven Dias deflected shot found Bhutia, who shot just went in touching the inside of the right goalpost. With this goal Bhutia became the top scorer for India in the Nehru Cup's history with 5 goals. Bangladesh got their first attempt on goal when striker Ameli's header went off target from a corner. Bangladesh continued to make inroads into the Indian defence and as a result of that in the 19th minute Indian keeper Subrata Pal had to make his first save of the match as Abul Hussain from right dribbled past Surkumar Singh and drilled in a shot which was safely caught by the East Bengal keeper. India made some small attacks but it did not test an alert Bangladesh keeper Biplab Bhattacharjee. In the 27th minute Bangladesh got their best opportunity of the game when a throw - in from the right was headed by Ameli but Subrata Pal outstandingly kept the ball out and India kept the lead. But two minutes later Zahid Hossain almost equalised for Bangladesh as his 40 yard shot just went over the bar. Bangladesh looked dominant at this point of the game. Then in the 34th minute Bhutia got a golden opportunity to double the lead but his shot was very weak and the goalkeeper made an easy save. Then just before half time a cross from Manju from the left which the Bangladesh keeper was unable to collect and it fell to Steven Dias who tried a bicycle kick, which saw the ball going over the bar. The first half ended with India maintaining their 1-0 lead but Bangladesh was fighting hard to pulling back one.
The second half started with Bangladesh attacking once more. Mohammed Robin who broke free on the left saw his shot well saved by Subrata Pal. In the other end a nice combination from the Indian forwards saw Chetri's shot saved by the Bangladesh keeper. In the 51st minute Syed Rahim Nabi came on for Deepak Kumar Mondal who had to go off injuried. Nabi came into the left back position and NS Manju shifted into the centre of defence. Both teams had some good build-ups but they weren't really able to test the two goalkeepers. Then in the 64th minute Sunil Chetri breaking the offside trap and made a run from left and drilled in a shot from just outside the box which was saved by the Bangladeshi keeper, but Mehraj din Wadoo punched on the rebound which was also cleared by keeper Biplab Bhattacharjee. Then after coming on Clifford Miranda, who came in for Renedy Singh, saw his thunderbolt shot hitting the crossbar and rebounding it to Dias who passed it to Climax who saw his shot parried out by the Bangladesh keeper. In the next minute Dias shot from the right side was saved superbly by Bangladesh keeper and it rebounded to Climax who shot was well wide of the post. The five minutes which followed, were the best of the game for India. Bangladesh were really riding their luck as India missed chance after chance. But thereafter India took a more defensive approach while Bangladesh were running to net the equaliser. Bhutia made way to young, talented Tarif Ahmed in the 85th minute of the game. India's last chance came when Surkumar Singh shot was saved by the Bangladesh keeper and it rebounded to Chetri whose shot was well saved by Biplab Bhattacharjee.
India really got into the mood in the second half of the game like they did against Cambodia, but today they just wasted too many chances. Something they surely cannot do against stronger sides like Syria and Kyrgyzstan.
The Baichung Bhutia and Sunil Chetri combination worked very well for India, but both missed too many chances. Climax Lawerence had an outstanding game in the midfield and he did earn praise from his coach Bob Houghton, who said, "It was the best individual perfomance I have seen since I took over as India's coach". But NP Pradeep's absence also had an huge impact on India's performance, who his replacement Mehraj din Wadoo did try his best. There is also a possibility that seasoned Renedy Singh, who hasn't impressed anyone in the two games, will be replaced by Clifford Miranda, who did a great job after coming on in both matches. The Indian defence was shaky at times, but thanks to Subrata Pal India hasn't conceeded any goals so far.
India cannot become complacent after their two wins and now meet the toughest opponent in the tournament in Syria. And for that the team will need to regroup and replacements are likely in some positions due to injuries and also giving rest to some players. The finishing needed to improve if India want to beat Syria on Thursday.
Meanwhile Bangladesh really impressived many people with their performance. Their approach was different from last game where they were out and out defensive. But today they attacked India whenever they had the possession. Also individually the Bangladesh keeper Biplab Bhattacharjee had a fantastic game. He denied India further goals on numerous occasions. Bangladesh will take on Cambodia in the next game on wednesday.
INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 13-Deepak Kumar Mondal (51' 12-Syed Rahim Nabi), 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 18-Mehraj din Wadoo, 8-Renedy Singh (57' 22-Clifford Miranda); 11-Sunil Chetri, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C] (85' 10-Tarif Ahmed).
BANGLADESH: 1-Biplab Bhattacharjee; 3-Waly Faisal, 5-Kazi Nazural Islam [C], 4-Rajani Kanta Barman, 2-Firoj Mahmud Hossain, 12-Zahid Hossain (69' 10-Alfaz Ahmed), 6-Ariful Islam, 7-Arman Aziz (88' 15-SM Rajib), 14-Abul Hussain, 11-Mohammed Robin (77' 8-Mehedi Hasan Uzzal), 9-Jahid Hasan Ameli.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Subrata Pal (India).
REFEREE: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: Mohammedan Sporting Club 1-2 Chirag United SC - Goals: 0-1 Theodore Sunday Wrobeh (30'), 1-1 Nirapada Mondal (38'), 1-2 Shankar Oraon (70').
Mohammedan Sporting: Gautam Das; Rajib Ahmed, Sheikh Azim, Ayeni Bedemi Daniel, Dipak Singh, A Jyothi Kumar, Basudeb Mondal (72' Avinash Thapa), Prasanta Chakraborty (85' Roque Barreto), Mohammed Muneer KP (58' Raman Vijayan), KP Zubair, Nirapada Mondal.
Chirag United: Shibram Dey; Dulal Biswas, Kingshuk Debnath, Louis Nigi Ebami, R Dhanarajan. Gouranga Dutta (87' Surojit Chakraborty), Achintya Saha, Mrinmoy Chakraborty (79' Safar Sardar), Sasthi Duley, Shankar Oraon, Theodore Sunday Wrobeh.
Referee: Prabir Dhar.
Bangalore Super Division: SAI, Bangalore 4-3 Royals SC - Goals: 0-1 Shin Dong Hun (8'), 1-1 Shivakumar (16'), 2-1,3-1 Amarnath (20',24'), 4-1 Kenneth, 4-2 Victor (62'), 4-3 Girish (68').
Calcutta Premier League: Calcutta Port Trust 2-0 Eastern Railway SC - Goals: 1-0,2-0 Sujit Dey (12',31').
Goa Professional League: MPT Sports Council 1-0 Raia Sporting Club - Goal: 1-0 Wilfred Gomes.
Goa Professional League: Velsao Pale SC 3-3 Vasco SC - Goals: 0-1,0-3 Joy Ferrao (7',30'), 0-2 Caitano Costa (9'), 1-3 Mariano Cruz (33'), 2-3 Carlos Fernandes (43'), 3-3 Donald Rocha (82').
Guwahati Super Division - Championship-leg: Jewel Star Club 0-2 Assam State Electricity Board - Goals: 0-1,0-2 Sarbananda Sonowal (41',85').
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Kyrgyzstan 4-3 Cambodia
Goals: 1-0 Talant Samsaliev (12'), 2-0 Bakyt Mamatov (17'), 2-1 Hok Sotitya (34'), 2-2 Chan Rithy (40'), 2-3 Chin Chum (43'), 3-3 Ruslan Djamshidov (48'), 4-3 Vadim Harchenko (65').
KYRGYZSTAN: Valeri Kahsuba, Viacheslav Amin, Talant Samsaliev, Bakytbek Mamatov, Davron Askarov, Sergei Kniazev (90' Rustamjan Zakirov), Vadim Harchenko, Aibek Bokoev, Ruslan Djamshidov (75' Timur Valiev), Hurshil Lutfullaev (64' Alambazek Mirzalive), Roman Kornilov.
CAMBODIA: 1-Oum Veasna, Chan Dara, Kim Chan Bonrith, Soun Thoun, Chan Rithy, Teab Vathnak, Sam Minar, Hok Sotitya (77' Sam El Nasa), Pok Chan Than, Chin Chum (77' Sun Sovannarith), Tieng Tiny (66' Thul Southearith).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Hok Sotitya (Cambodia).
REFEREE: S Suresh (India).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Bangalore Super Division: BEML (EM) 0-1 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - Goal: 0-1 J Muralidharan (50').
Goa Professional League: Sporting Clube de Goa 0-0 Salgaocar SC - Goals: none.
Goa Professional League: Dempo SC 0-1 Churchill Brothers SC - Goal: 0-1 D Raju.
Guwahati Super Division - Championship-leg: FCI, Guwahati 3-1 Assam Police Blues - Goals: 0-1 Rabijit Jigdung (23'), 1-1,3-1 Thomson Langthasa (64',88'), 2-1 Pratap Brahma (70').
::: KMI Mather re-elected Kerala FA president :::
Elections for its office bearers were held today at the Kerala FA's Annual General Meeting in Kochi. KMI Mather was re-elected as president while KP Sunny has retained his post as secretary.
In the election, Mather defeated PV Balakrishnan, who was the KFA vice-President. Mather got 75 votes while Balakrishnan could get only 20 votes. Out of the 102 members, 97 had cast their votes, while two votes were invalid.
Sunny was re-elected as the secretary, defeating CPI(M) MLA V Sivankutty. Out of the 96 votes polled, Sunny got 65 votes while Sivankutty collected only 31 votes.
P Asharaf was elected as treasurer by defeating KA Latheef. Asharaf polled 68 votes and Latheef 26.
Following are other office-bearers: Vice-presidents: KE Kocheeppan Mappilai, ME Balagopala Kurup, KK Gopalakrishnan, KA Stanley James; Joint secretaries: C Krishnan Nair, VPP Abdul Rehman.
Before the elections the awards for the 2006 best football players were handed out.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: Syria 2-0 Bangladesh
Goals: 1-0 Maher Al Sayed (48'), 2-0 Zyad Chaabo (79').
It seems that things are not going well for the former India and now Bangladesh coach Syed Nayeemuddin. The man who lost his job at the Ambedkar stadium once again started his job in the same stadium but the result was same, where India lost to Yemen 0-3 and now also Bangladesh lost to Syria 0-2.
One of the strong contenders of the "ONGC" Nehru Cup, Syria looked better and organised from the beginning of the match. The combination of the Syrian players was worthwhile to watch. on the other hand Bangladesh never looked strong and showed their zeal to win the game.
Though the Syrian players were looking better but yet they were not successful in scoring any goal in the first half. The Syrian coach Fajer Ibraahem when asked what was the reason for that, he said," I asked them to start slowly and get accustomed to the ground and the climate condition." He further added that, "the climate is very hot and my players are finding difficult to cope up with it." Not much happened in the first half except some half hearted chances and weak attempts.
But in the second half Syria paced up their game and soon got the first goal of the match in 48th minute when Syrian captain Maher Al Sayed brilliant finish was too good for Bangladeshi goalkeeper Biplab Bhattacharjee to save that. The Syrian team took advantage of the weak Bangladeshi midfield and defence, taking full control of the game. The Syrian players gained their confidence which was seen in their game. The combination of their midfield and strikers was brilliant. The Syrians were now in the drivers seat. Syrian domination continued and soon they got the second goal of the match in 79th minute when Zyad Chaabo scored off a brilliant move.
Though after the match Syed Nayeemuddin seems to be satisfied by his teams performance and defending them he said that, "I am happy by the team performance. My guys fought well, Syria was better team than us." He further added, "we conceded the goal because of lack of combination and silly mistakes." When asked about the next game against India he said, "Indian team is looking better and it will be tough to beat them but yet we will try our best." On the other side Syrian coach Fajer Ibraahem said, "Kyrgyzstan and India are also strong contenders to win the ONGC Cup and the Indian team looks better as they have beaten Cambodia 6-0."
SYRIA: Mowssab Blahowss; Khaled Mannsoor Al Baba, Zeen Alabeden Al Fandi, Mootassem Alaya, Abrahiem Al Hasan, Wael Ayan, Mahmoud Al Amena (86' Mohammed Al Zeno), Maher Al Sayed, Zyad Chaabo, Ali Al Rifaai.
BANGLADESH: Biplab Bhattacharjee; Kazi Nazural Islam, Ariful Islam, Arman Aziz, Rajani Kanta Barman, Firoj Mahmud Hossain (69' Zahed Parvez Choudhary), Abul Hussain (80' Mehedi Hassan), Waly Faisal, Zahid Hossain, Jahid Hasan Ameli, Mohammed Robin (52' Alfaz Ahmed).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Maher Al Sayed (Syria).
REFEREE: A Arjunan (India).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Bangalore Super Division: Postal Department 1-0 Department of Youth Services&Sports - Goal: 1-0 Srinivas (14').
Calcutta Premier League: Peerless SC 0-0 George Telegraph SC - Goals: none.
Calcutta Premier League: Mohammedan Sporting Club - Chirag United SC = match abandoned due to heavy rains
Calcutta Premier League: Calcutta Port Trust - Eastern Railway SC = match abandoned due to heavy rains
Calcutta Super Division: SAIL 3-4 Indian Air Force, Barrackpore
Calcutta Super Division: West Bengal Police 0-0 Police AC
Calcutta Super Division: Calcutta Customs 0-2 Railway FC
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami - Aryan Club = match abandoned due to heavy rains
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: Sunrise Club (walkover) Assam Dynamo Club
::: NP Pradeep likely to miss Bangladesh match :::
Midfielder NP Pradeep is likely to miss Monday's match against neighbours Bangladesh at the 13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup. The Keralite, who scored a stunning opener yesterday, is set to be forced to sit out due to a leg injury picked-up just before half time in yesterday's clash against Cambodia. Mehraj din Wadoo, who had come on as Pradeep's replacement, is set to take his place in the starting eleven.
::: Western Railway captain run over by Mumbai local train :::
In a tragic incidence Mumbai's Western Railway captain Polly Cherian, 27, was run over by a local train yesterday between the Bandra and Khar stations on his way to work at Virar. The Keralite from Thrissur had been playing in Mumbai since 2002 for the Railway team with whom he also had a job as a clerk.
::: WorldSpace signs India captain Baichung Bhutia :::
WorldSpace has announced its alliance with India captain Baichung Bhutia. The satellite-based digital radio service provider has signed Bhutia for its special football editions for the Barclays Premier League for WorldSpace's morning session "Sports Brew" on its channel "Play Channel 520".
Bhutia's interviews will be aired live on Monday mornings, whereby he will be sharing his thoughts on the previous weekend's results.
::: East Bengal threathen Calcutta Premier League boycott :::
It was Mohun Bagan threathening a boycott ahead the Calcutta derby about the refereeing and now after losing it is East Bengal's turn to threathen the IFA a boycott, if they do not get a satisfactory explanation about decisions taken by the referee yesterday and why the parent body caved in to the pressure tactics of their archrivals.
After their meeting the East Bengal executive committee clearly stated that they would not play any of their remaining Calcutta Premier League matches, if the IFA is unable to answer about the "injustice" done to them in yesterday's derby.
The IFA is in a fix as they had somewhat given in to the pressure of Mohun Bagan by naming a three member panel to overlook the performance of the referee, but did enforce that a local referee was incharge of affairs yesterday.
13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup - Round Robin League - Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi: INDIA 6-0 Cambodia
Goals: 1-0 Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (16'), 2-0 Baichung Bhutia (45'+4',pen), 3-0,6-0 Steven Dias (73',90'), 4-0,5-0 Sunil Chetri (83',84').
India scored a 6-0 win in their opening 13th "ONGC" Nehru Cup match against Cambodia at the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. After the revived tournament was inaugurated by the Indian President Smt. Prathiba Patil the Indian team showed what they had learned under English coach Bob Houghton over the last year and especially in the last couple of month's of intensive training. Finally the team was able to implement what Bob has been trying to teach the boys against an overawed opponent, who also had their problems with the heat and humidity in the capital.
INDIA: 20-Subrata Pal; 17-Irungbam Surkumar Singh, 13-Deepak Kumar Mondal, 14-Mahesh Gawli, 3-Nanjangud Shivnanju Manju; 23-Steven Dias, 40-Climax Lawrence, 7-Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (43' 18-Mehraj din Wadoo), 8-Renedy Singh (71' 22-Clifford Miranda); 11-Sunil Chetri, 15-Baichung Bhutia [C] (71' 21-Abhishek Yadav).
CAMBODIA: 1-Oum Veasna, Chan Dara, Thul Southeariath (62' Kim Chan Bonrith), Om Thavrak, Chan Rithy, Sam El Nasa, Teab Vathnak, Sun Sovananarith, Hok Sottiya (56' Keo Kosal), Pok Chan Than, Tieng Tiny.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Steven Dias (India).
REFEREE: Pepera Hetti Kamkanamge (Sri Lanka).
ASSISTENT REFEREES: Thaufeeq Ibrahim (Maldives), Giri Kiran (Nepal).
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Sikhrakar Surendra (Nepal).
More information, post-match comments and pictures are available at the >>IndianFootball.Com National Team section
Calcutta Premier League: East Bengal Club - Mohun Bagan AC
Goals: 0-1 Pachau Lalam Puia (9'), 0-2 Jose Ramirez Barreto (34' pen), 0-3,1-4 Shanmugam Venkatesh (42',47'), 1-3,2-4 Alvito D'Cunha (46',60'), 3-4 Edmilson Marques Pardal (69',pen).
East Bengal: 21-Abhra Mondal; 4-Gurpreet Singh, 3-Abdul Samed Okocha (38' 12-Anupam Sarkar), 2-Muttath Suresh, 42-Madhab Das (46' 14-Chandan Das), 29-Saumik Dey; 6-Dipankar Roy, 34-Amulya Mondal (14' 10-Dipendu Biswas), 7-Jayanta Sen, 9-Alvito D'Cunha, 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal, 25-Ashim Biswas.
Mohun Bagan: 31-Shilton Pal; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal, 12-Peter Siddiqui, ?-Peter Odafe, 7-Rauf Sher Khan; 16-James Lukram Singh, 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick (71' 27-Suman Datta), 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 18-Dharamjit Singh (88' 11-Ishfaq Ahmed), 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto, 9-Pachau Lalam Puia.
YELLOW CARDS: Alvito D'Cunha (5'), Jayanta Sen (10'), Madhab Das (40'), Dipankar Roy (42'), Edmilson Marques Pardal (45', all East Bengal); Lal Kamal Bhowmick (50'), Jose Ramirez Barreto (70', both Mohun Bagan).
REFEREE: Subrata Sarkar.
Bangalore Super Division: Karnataka State Police 6-1 ADE - Goals: 1-0 Karthigan (10'), 2-0 Girish (19'), 2-1 Donnald (29'), 3-1 Sampath (34'), 4-1,5-1 Arun Kumar (81',83'), 6-1 Karthik (87').
Goa Professional League: Raia Sporting Club 1-3 Velsao Pale SC - Goals: 1-0 Marcus Mascarenhas (8'), 1-1 Simon Borges (16'), 1-2 Desmond Fernandes (64' pen), 1-3 Sebrino Gonsalves (70').
Goa Professional League: Vasco SC 1-1 MPT Sports Council - Goals: -.
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: NF Railway SC 3-1 SAI SC, Guwahati - Goals: 0-1 Rabilochan Basumatari (26'), 1-1,2-1 Tapash Sinha (31',50'), 3-1 Y Raju Singh (63').
Goa Professional League: Salgaocar SC 2-3 Dempo SC - Goals: 0-1,1-2 Chidi Edeh (5',12'), 1-1 Milagres Gonsalves (10'), 1-3 Nicolau Borges (43'), 2-3 Badmus Baba Thunde (45+').
Salgaocar SC: 1-Milagrio Madeira, 4-Vincent Brice Pires, 3-Peter Costa, 18-Samson Fernandes, 17-TV Biju Kumar, 36-Anthony Barbosa, 25-Rocus Lamare [C], 19-Shylo Malswam Tulunga, 6-Nicholas L Rodrigues, 10-Badmus Baba Thunde, 26-Milagres Gonsalves.
Substitutes: 2-Marcus Basumatari, 8-Agnelo Colaco, 16-Nicolau Colaco, 30-Francis Fernandes, 14-Jerose Oliveira, 27-Bevan D'Mello, 33-Edison Sequeira, 37-Joshua Rebello, 31-Cajetan Fernandes, 7-Felix Chimaokwu, 15-Agnelo Barreto.
Dempo SC: 1-Abhijit Mondal; 32-Sarvanand Korgaonkar, 3-John Charles Dias [C], 4-Cressan Antao, 25-Pio Rodrigues, 23-Dominic Noronha, 22-Nicolau Borges, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 6-Peter Carvalho, 12-Jerry Zirsanga, 30-Chidi Edeh, 29-Clifton Rodrigues.
Substitutes: 31-Tyson Caiado, 27-Avdhesh Pal, 18-Valeriano Rebello, 5-Marcus Peixito, 7-Nacimento Silveira, 19-Johnny D'Cruz, 26-Lester Mark Fernandez, 17-Joaquim Abranches.
Yellow Cards: Peter Costa, TV Biju Kumar (both Salgaocar).
Referee: Benjamin D'Silva.
Assistent Referees: Ragunath Gosavi, Anthony Simoes.
Fourth Official: Parmanand Mandrekar.
Guwahati Super Division - Championship-leg: Assam Police Blues 0-1 Assam State Electricity Board - Goal: 0-1 Nitu Narzary (64').
Assam State Electricity Board have regained the Guwahati Super Division title!
Bangalore Super Division: MEG 0-0 LRDE - Goals: none.
Goa Professional League: Churchill Brothers SC 0-0 Sporting Clube de Goa - Goals: none.
SOCCEREX NEWS: UNICEF and Soccerex team up to promote children's development through sport
UNICEF today announced its partnership with Soccerex, the business convention for football worldwide, which will take place from 25-28 November at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
The global children's organisation said it will showcase its Sport for Development program at this year's Soccerex Convention, when it will seek to engage some 5,000 delegates on the development of children through sport.
Soccerex CEO, Duncan Revie, said: "We see this partnership with UNICEF as a great opportunity for Soccerex to contribute towards a real legacy during our time in South Africa. Everyone knows the power of football to reach into the hearts and minds of young people, especially here in South Africa, and this partnership will not only facilitate that but will also offer direct encouragement to other companies looking for relevant opportunities for their own corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes."
In addition to exhibiting at the Soccerex convention, UNICEF will also be represented on the key 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR) discussion panel by Mr. Kamau and other keynote speakers. A gala dinner, communication and fundraising strategy will form the basis for the UNICEF / Soccerex partnership.
For more go to Soccerex website |
::: PIO Michael Chopra scores again for Sunderland :::
"Player of Indian Origin" Michael Chopra scored the one-all equaliser for Sunderland in the 75th minute in their two-all draw against Birmingham City last night. Chopra, who was in the starting eleven today, scored his second goal in as many matches for the Roy Keane coached side.
::: IFA names referee inspector's as watchdogs for tomorrow's derby :::
The Indian Football Association (West Bengal) today named former players Sukumar Samajpati and Bikramjit Debnath besides former FIFA referee Milan Datta as referee's inspectors to watch and then access the performance of the match officials at the season's first big Calcutta derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
Mohun Bagan had threathened to boycott the season's first derby after Sunday's East Bengal-Peerless match which had been called-off by the referee due to rains and crowd trouble. The IFA had rescheduled the match for Tuesday and out of a match which East Bengal were losing 0-2 in the 67th minute they won 3-0 two day's later.
Mohun Bagan had protested the referee's decision and had demanded an outstation referee to officiate in the first derby of the season, but the IFA stood it's ground and will field a local referee for the match. Only that a committee has been constituted to monitor the performance of the referee.
::: 48th APTA Shield in September :::
The 48th Assam Tea Planters' Association Shield Football Tournament will be held at the Jorhat Stadium in Assam from September 2 to 15. The tournament would see upto 14 teams in action. Amongst them Assam's top sides like Oil India Limited, newly crowned Guwahati league chamCports Club, Moran Town Club, 2nd Assam Special Reserve Force and Coal India Limited. The organisers are trying to get Nagaland Police and Shan-e-Bengal from central India to participate in the tournament.
August 15 |
IndianFootball.Com wishes a Happy 60th Independence Day to all INDIANS around the world! |
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2007 - Asian qualifiers, Dubai - Group A: Japan 4-3 INDIA
Goals: 1-0 Tabata Teruki, 2-0,3-1,4-1 Takeshi 'Take' Kawaharazuka, 2-1,4-3 Venicio Gonsalves, 4-2 Bruno Coutinho.
JAPAN: 1-Shingo Terukina, 2-Katsuhiro Yoshi, 3-Takeshi 'Take' Kawaharazuka, 4-Tadaomi Nakamura, 7-Takashi Arakaki, 8-Tomoya Uehara, 9-Takashi Takiguchi, 10-Tabata Teruki [C], 11-Goto Takasuke, 12-Tomoya Gioza.
Coach: Carlos Alberto Lisboa (Brazil).
INDIA: 1-Dominic D'Souza, 2-Sebastiano Dias, 3-Anthony Levino Pereira [C], 4-Augustinho Rodrigues, 6-Remedios Colaco, 7-Elvis Pereira, 8-Bruno Coutinho, 10-Venicio Gonsalves, 11-Thomas Alex, 12-Anthony Pereira.
Coach: Eduard Löwen (Germany).
YELLOW CARDS: none.
1st REFEREE: Zhiwei Geng.
2nd REFEREE: Hassan.
3rd REFEREE: Waleed Ali Al Ali.
Independence Day Cup, Sikkim - Final: IISCO, Burnpur 1-5 Sports Academy of Sikkim
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2007 - Asian qualifiers, Dubai - Group A: United Arab Emirates 6-2 INDIA - Goals: 1-0,3-0 Qambar Ali (6',?'), 2-0,4-2 Haider Mohammed (7',?'), 3-1 Anthony Levino Pereira, 3-2 Venicio Gonsalves, 5-2 Ali Eisa, 6-2 Khamis Saad.
Calcutta Premier League: East Bengal Club 3-0 Peerless SC - Goals: 1-0 Abdul Samed Okocha (16'), 2-0 Alvito D'Cunha (50'), 3-0 Dipankar Roy (57').
East Bengal: 21-Abhra Mondal; 35-Aibor Khongjee, 4-Gurpreet Singh, 3-Abdul Samed Okocha (57' 12-Anupam Sarkar), 42-Madhab Das, 29-Saumik Dey; 6-Dipankar Roy (79' 36-Sovan Chakraborty), 37-Marlanki Suting, 9-Alvito D'Cunha (63' 39-Ratanm Das), 30-Edmilson Marques Pardal, 25-Ashim Biswas.
Peerless: Rakesh Prasad; Zoheb Hassan, Satish Kumar Bharti, Sahab Ali, Tarak Roy, Gouranga Biswas, Satnam Singh (20' Ratan Naskar, 70' Debjit Bhowmick), Sovan Das (40' Kartick Kisku), Ugwo James Agbo, Babin Biswas, Subair Muritala Ali.
Referee: Udayan Haldar.
Calcutta Super Division: SAIL 3-0 Tollygunge Agragami
Calcutta Super Division: Police AC 2-3 Indian Air Force, Barrackpore
Calcutta Super Division: Aryan Club 2-1 FCI, Calcutta
Calcutta Super Division: West Bengal Police 1-1 Railway FC
Goa Professional League: Vasco SC 1-3 Dempo SC - Goals: 1-0 Mathew Odje (10'); 1-1 Nicolau Borges (50'), 1-2,1-3 Chidi Edeh.
Vasco SC: 1-Juje Siddi; 5-Tarzan Thomas, 2-Bento Vaz, 29-Roberto Fernandes, 4-Kamal Thapa, 27-Queterio Pango, 30-Menino Fernandes, 23-Sujay Mondal, 24-Eulganuo Cardozo,6-Joy Ferrao, 11-Mathew Odje.
Substitutes: 31-Risuen Fernandes, 3-Caitan Costa, 10-Agnelo Colaco, 15-Remedios Barreto, 14-Joel Sequeira, 20-Krishna Tudu, 17-Agnelo D'Souza, 28-Lalnun Puia, 7-Rehman Cardozo, 18-Elvino Fernandes, 9-Agnelo Martins.
Dempo SC: 21-VP Satish Kumar; 3-John Dias, 23-Dominic Noronha, 5-Marcus Peixito, 22-Nicolau Borges, 7-Nacimento Silveira, 6-Peter Carvalho, 12-Jerry Zirsanga, 17-Joaquim Abranches, 29-Cliffton Rodrigues.
Substitutes: 31-Tyson Caiado, 4-Cressan Antao, 18-Valeriano Rebello, 26-Lester Mark Fernandez, 19-Johnny D'Cruz, 11-Roberto Mendes Silva, 30-Chidi Edeh.
Referee: Franky Fernandes.
Assistent Referees: Benjamin Silva, Egidio D'Costa.
Fourth Official: Rohidas Bhomkar.
Calcutta Premier League: Mohammedan Sporting Club 4-2 Calcutta Port Trust - Goals: 1-0 Basudeb Mondal (18'), 1-1 Souvik Biswas (43'), 2-1 Raman Vijayan (56',76'), 3-1 Kalia Kulothungan (63'), 4-2 Henry Chukwukere (88').
Mohammedan Sporting: Gautam Das; Rajib Ahmed, Ayeni Bidemi Daniel, Sheikh Azim (86' Tapan Giri), Deepak Singh, A Jyothi Kumar, Basudeb Mondal, Prasanta Chakraborty, Mohammed Muneer KP (33' Raman Vijayan), Nirapada Mondal (78' Mohammed Moinuddin Siddique), Kalia Kulothungan.
Calcutta Port Trust: Sandip Guha; Sujoy Chakraborty, Rabindranath Karmakar, Simanta Das, Ranjit Chatterjee, Sanjit Saha (22' Dipak Dalui), Sayantan Das Roy (80' Pradip Tewari), Swarup Dey, Souvik Biswas, Mark Dennis Afam, Henry Chukwukere.
Referee: Dhanapati Roy.
Goa Professional League: Raia Sporting Club 1-2 Sporting Clube de Goa - Goals: 1-0 Marcus Mascarenhas (38'), 1-1 Boniface Ngairah Ambani (40'), 1-2 Cavin Lobo (48').
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: Assam Dynamo Club 1-0 NF Railway SC - Goal: 1-0 B Vamlalghaka (84').
Punjab State 2nd Division League - Qualifiers: Harcharan SC - Harbhajan SC, Mahilpur - Goals: -.
Punjab State 2nd Division League - Qualifiers: City FC, Phagwara - GS Parmar FC - Goals: -.
Independence Day Cup, Sikkim - Semifinal: IISCO, Burnpur 2-0 UKFC, Kurseong
::: ONGC Nehru Cup: India and Ambedkar Stadium ready :::
It looks like the Ambedkar Stadium will soon be able to regain its lost status. The renovation of the stadium has aroused curiosity in the hearts and minds of the every football fan and people associated with it in the capital. The ground with new grass turf and floodlights finally in place are just the perfect ingredient to conduct an international tournament.
The stadium is ready and so is the Indian national team. The team turned-up for practice in the Ambedkar Stadium for the first time after the renovation work on Saturday to get a feel and also get accustomed to the lights and the turf. Apart from the general warm up the team played a 30-30 minute practice match amongst themselves. The practice and the way coach Bob Houghton boys were playing in the practice match they seem to be ready for the ONGC Nehru Cup.
After the encouraging performance of the team in Portugal, the highly spirited Indian team is just waiting for the tournament to start. With Sunil Chetri and Baichung Bhutia leading from the front and are looking better, the Indian team has a chance to win this tournament. Baichung's experience plus Sunil Chetri's energy and scoring ability can become a headache for any opponent. The team looks formidable as all their stars are fit. With Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Surkumar Singh and Sameer Nair the Indian defence looks solid. The return of seasoned Renedy Singh and Climax Lawrence will aid depth to the midfield along with NP Pradeep and Steven Dias
But, the past performances of the Indian team in New Delhi have not been encouraging and were heavily criticised, mostly last years 0-3 loss to Yemen. Not only will the team have to work hard but also have to put a great show in order to pull the crowds from the streets. Yet they are amongst the favourites to win the tournament.
One can hope that the Indian teams good performance will be carried into the ONGC Nehru Cup and the team will come out with flying colours. In order to get the public support the team has to win their first match on August 17 when the take on Cambodia in the opening match of the ONGC Nehru Cup.
::: RCF officially declared Punjab League champions :::
by Balbit Singh: It's official now that Kapurthala's Rail Coach Factory have annexed the 21st Punjab State Super Football League, sponsored by NRI Shiv Lal Pabbi after Jagatjit Cotton Textile of Phagwara and Border Security Force of Jalandhar were engaged in a goalless draw in the last match of the seven-team round Robin League.
With this listless BSF-JCT draw, JCT and JCT Academy are tied with an identical tally of eight points each. Both teams had the same goal difference (+3). However, JCT Academy obtained the fourth place on the basis of scoring more number of goals. They had eight in favour and five against. JCT could net only six and conceded three so the now former champions finished fifth.
Jalandhar's Border Security Force got just three points and along with bottom finishers Mahilpur FC with one point, have been relegated to Division II.
Rail Coach Factory topped the table with 13 points with four victories, one drew and one defeat. Punjab State Electricity Board of Hoshiarpur and Punjab Police, Jalandhar, had 11 points each. PSEB, however, occupied the runners-up position on the basis of better goal difference (11 for and 4 against) against Punjab Police (8 for, 3 against).
Three players earned the distinction of scoring hattricks. They were Harpreet Singh of Punjab Police; Parveen Kumar of JCT, Phagwara; and Sandeep Singh of Punjab State Electricity Board.
Harpreet Singh (Punjab Police) topscored with five goals and Parveen Kumar (JCT Phagwara) netted fours. Pankaj Sura (RCF Kapurthala), Satwinder Singh (Mahilpur FC) and Sandeep Singh (PSEB Hoshiarpur) scored three goals each.
Punjab Sports Director and three-time hockey Olympian Pargat Singh was the chief guest and distributed the prizes on the final day of the league, which wasn't held in its usual home-and-away format due to lack of time.
Goa Professional League: Velsao Pale SC 0-1 Churchill Brothers SC - Goals 0-1 Mashangva Genius Zenith (44').
Yellow Card: Reisangmi Vasum (Churchill Brothers).
Red Card: Odafe Onyeka Okolie (27', Churchill Brothers).
Referee: Raghunath Gosavi.
Calcutta Premier League: East Bengal Club - Peerless SC = abandoned due to heavy rain and crowd trouble.
Calcutta Premier League: Chirag United SC 3-0 George Telegraph SC - Goals 1-0 Theodore Sunday Wrobeh, 2-0 Gouranga Dutta, 3-0 Dulal Biswas.
Goa Professional League: MPT Sports Council 0-2 Salgaocar SC - Goals 0-1,0-2 Felix Chimaokwu (56',81').
Guwahati Super Division - Relegation-leg: SAI SC, Guwahati (walkover) Sunrise Club
Punjab State 2nd Division League - Qualifiers: Dalbir Football Academy, Patiala 2-1 Harbhajan SC, Mahilpur - Goals: 1-0 Manpreet Singh, 2-0 Preetjot Singh (84'), 2-1 Harinder Singh (86').
Independence Day Cup, Sikkim - Semifinal: Sikkim Police FC 1-4 Sports Academy of Sikkim
::: Priced tickets are not going to be converted to complimentary tickets for the Big Match: IFA secretary UK Ganguli :::
To maximise the revenue from the sale of tickets IFA secretary Utpal Kumar Ganguli has informed that the Priced tickets will not be converted to Complimentary tickets for the upcoming exhibition match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal on August 17 at the Saltlake Stadium for the Sahara Calcutta Football League. Also, no complimentary tickets will be distributed to the IFA officials, IFA office bearers, Sub Committee members or any IFA affiliated units, as is the general practice.
"The same steps have been taken to derive maximum financial benefit from ticket-selling prior to the Big Match on Friday," mentioned Utpal Kumar Ganguli.
He further mentioned that members of the Press will only be allowed inside the Press Box at Saltlake Stadium on presenting their IFA accreditation cards which will be issued by the IFA within 14th August 2007. These cards will be issued to Media Houses and not to any individual, for the sake of convenience.
::: Bangalore District FA decides to reform Bangalore leagues :::
The much delayed Bangalore Super Division 2006 ended just yesterday, but the new league season is already around the corner set to kickoff on Thursday, but with some differences.
The Bangalore District FA has decided to reform Bangalore leagues to make it more competitive for its clubs. The Super Division is being expanded to 15 clubs facing each other, while the 'A' Division will have 14 teams (later to be expanded to 15 teams as well). The expansion of the top two divisions means that there will be temporarily no 'B' Division, but the 'C' Division has been divided into five groups with the top two teams of each group qualifying for the new 'B' Division next year.
This whole restructing is part of rejuvinating football in Bangalore under the new committee of the Bangalore District FA. KGS Alva is the new president, while former referee SM Balu is the new secretary. Plans are also on to revive the Stafford Cup and make it again south India's biggest and best tournament.
::: Calcutta Premier League match rescheduled :::
The Calcutta Premier League match East Bengal Club - Peerless SC which was abandoned at the East Bengal ground in the afternoon today due to heavy monsoon rains has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 14.
At the time of the abandonment by referee Dilip Ghosh in the 68th minute East Bengal were trailing 0-2 against promoted Peerless SC.
Calcutta Premier League: Mohun Bagan AC 3-0 Eastern Railway SC - Goals 1-0,3-0 Jose Ramirez Barreto (5',31'), 2-0 Shanmugam Venkatesh (27').
Mohun Bagan's Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto weaved his magic once again in the Calcutta Premier League as he scored two goals in his teams's 3-0 victory over minnows Eastern Railway SC. Former Mahindra United skipper Shanmugam Venkatesh chipped in with the third goal of the match. Mohun Bagan have thus scored ten goals without conceding a single one in the last two matches albeit against teams like Calcutta Port Trust and Eastern Railway SC. They seem to be well prepared for their next match against archrivals East Bengal on Friday, August 17 at the Saltlake Stadium. East Bengal also seem to be in good form after their 6-2 thrashing of Mohammedan Sporting on August 7. A mouth-watering match is thus in prospect next Friday.
Mohun Bagan: 31-Shilton Pal; 5-Habibur Rehman Mondal, 12-Peter Siddiqui, ?-Peter Odafe, 7-Rauf Sher Khan; 16-James Lukram Singh, 22-Lal Kamal Bhowmick, 6-Shanmugam Venkatesh, 18-Dharamjit Singh (75' 28-Sudheesh Muttath), 10-Jose Ramirez Barreto (56' 11-Ishfaq Ahmed), 9-Pachau Lalam Puia (62' 19-Jamir Ali Mondal).
Eastern Railway: Tapan Kumar Karmakar; Babun Kar, Santanu Bit, Maduekwe Emeka Ejike, Sanjit Dutta Bhowmick, Chandan Turi, Parvez Alam (42' Bapi Haldar), Bapan Bera, Anthony Soren (39' Hemant Chhetri), Mohammed Nadeem, Fulchand Hembram (78' Rajib Ekka).
Referee: Jayanta Sarkar.
Bangalore Super Division: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-0 MEG - Goal 1-0 Karthikeyan (84').
Calcutta Super Division: Railway FC 1-0 Indian Air Force, Barrackpore
Calcutta Super Division: Tollygunge Agragami 3-2 Police AC
Calcutta Super Division: SAIL 2-0 FCI, Calcutta
Calcutta Super Division: West Bengal Police 0-0 Calcutta Customs
Punjab State 2nd Division League - Qualifiers: Dalbir Football Academy, Patiala 0-0 GS Parmar FC - Goals: none.
Punjab State 2nd Division League - Qualifiers: Harcharan SC 0-1 City FC, Phagwara - Goal: 0-1 Amarjit Singh (87').
Independence Day Cup, Sikkim - Quarterfinal: Apex FC, Kalimpong 0-1 UKFC, Kurseong
::: PIO Michael Chopra scores on Sunderland debut :::
"Player of Indian Origin" Michael Chopra scored the winner for Sunderland in the 94th minute against Tottenham Hotspurs to mark a memorable return to the Premiership. Chopra, who had come on as a substitute, had made the switch in the summer from Cardiff City back to the Northeast to Sunderland, were a lot of fans were eyeing him with suspicion due to the fact that he had played for archrivals Newcastle United.
"I was disappointed not to start but I was determined to get on the pitch and get a goal," said Chopra. "I was desperate to do it, especially being a Geordie from Newcastle coming to Sunderland, I was desperate to get that goal and show Sunderland fans I want to be here," said Chopra. Chopra, son of an English mother and an Indian father, made news for being the first player of Indian parentage to play and score in the Premier League. As a Player of Indian Origin, the AIFF requested his services, but Chopra has refused to play for India.
::: Wolverhampton-India Partnership: Punjab, Chandigarh schools besides JCT to benefit from project :::
Punjab and Chandigarh will be major beneficiaries of the Wolverhampton-India Project launched in the House of Commons (UK).
According to members of Indian community in the Midlands, UK, of three key elements of the project - trade, education and sports - the region hopes to derive the maximum advantage from the last two. Many e-mails from Punjabi community in the UK and beneficiary institutions in India have hailed the project as path breaking.
Award of a British Council grant for an online project between schools in Wolverhampton and Punjab and Chandigarh on climate change and sustainable future, a friendship agreement between Wolverhampton Wanderers and JCT Mills (Phagwara) football teams and building of an Asian Future centre at University of Wolverhampton through partnership of the Ashram Housing Association are the salient features of the project.
Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, and organiser of the project said, "This project is born out of a desire to seize opportunities presented by globalisation. The world is becoming smaller. Movement of people, goods and capital has probably never been easier than today."
In the first six months of the last financial year alone, UK agencies helped secure 11 new investment projects from India. These figures show globalisation is not a one-way street where jobs and investment flow out of wealthier developed countries into growing developing countries like India