New Delhi: It is just the third day into group clashes, engaging just four of them with 24 teams vying for the lone spot from each pool to enter the knockout phase of the Junior Boys (Under-17) in the 56th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament.
But it is foolhardy to hazard a guess at this juncture with fortunes changing as swiftly as one would expect in some of the pool matches, thanks to a fair draw of teams. Still, one can say with certainty that some teams are proving to be more than equal, with two more days to go for the pool A-D rendezvous to get over both at the NWC ground and the Ambedkar Stadium.
Teams like Army Boys Sports Company (pool A), Manipur (pool B) SAI and Assam (pool C) and Meghalaya and Odisha (pool D) have been consistent in their pool engagements with convincing victories which make their passage into the quarterfinals rather easy. Probably, a clear picture may emerge after tomorrow’s matches.
The Army Boys Sports Company continued their winning ways, even though it was a facile 1-0 victory over Uttarakhand’s Maharana Pratap Sports College in Pool A, thanks to Premjit Singh’s 46th minute goal. However, this was good enough for them get full points and stay atop in the pool.
In contrast, the MSP Higher Secondary School from Mallapuram, Kerala, thumped Tamil Nadu’s Rani Seethai Aachi Higher Secondary School from Cuddalore 15-1. Shahajas struck three times while teammates Rahul K.D., Davang Ashok, Arjun and Jifty scored a brace each for the winners. With the team from Chandigarh GM High School not turning up, Gujarat’s St Xavier’s High School got a walk over and full points.
In Pool B, Rahul Das’ 51st minute goal saw Indian Railways beat Air Force Bal Bharti School, New Delhi 1-0 while BKSP from Bangladesh defeated 2 Maharashtra Battalion NCC, Nagpur, 5-0. Shaukat scored two goals for the winners and Islam, Rahman and Sheikh, who opened the account for the Bangladesh side, added to the tally.
Meanwhile, the morning encounters saw Sports Authority of India, Salt Lake, beating Government Bazaar High School, Mizoram, 2-1, Assam’s Betkuchi High School humiliating Father Agnel Multipurpose School and Junior College, Maharashtra, 11-1 in pool C. For SAI, Nirmal and Fakira scored while Silvana Lal reduced the margin for the Mizo school towards the close. For the Assam team, Pranjal Bhumi not only started an early onslaught but also ended their rivals’ ordeal with a goal in the 70th minute to complete a high-five. Birkwadu joined him in the spree with two goals. For Maharashtra, Amit struck.
In another match in the same pool, Car Nicobar’s Government Senior Secondary School becoming the whipping boy as Sikkim’s Central Pendam Senior School inflicted 3-1 victory. Adarsh, Amrit and Baichung were the scorers for the winners while for the Car Nicobar side Joseph score the lone goal.
In Pool D, Delhi’s Mamta Modern scored their second successive win when they beat Shri Ram School, Delhi NCR 6-1 to put themselves in some comfortable position. Mayank was the star of their win, scoring four goals while Avinav struck the lone goal for the NCR team.
Like the Car Nicobar team in Pool C, Government Higher Secondary School from Daman & Diu is finding the going tough as West Bengal’s Rajganj MN High School won 3-0 to be another contender from pool D. Rajesh, Swapan and Pratik shared the goals. In the third mach of the pool, Meghalaya’s Mawsura RC Upper Primary School beat Odisha’s Town High School 4-1. Dibarknic, Banshan, Andyson and Chaster were the goal-getters for the northeastern team and Arun hit the target for Odisha.
In Pool B, Little Angels Paradise School from Wangbal, Manipur, defeated Sainik School from Ghorakhal, Uttarakhand, 5-0. The latter had no clue to what was happening despite the fact that the Manipur boys never had to work hard for the victory, N. Sushil Kumar again striking a brace for the winners with contributions from teammates.
