Mahindra beat East Bengal 2-0 to enter Durand semifinal
Defending champions Mahindra
United rode a double strike from Mohammed Rafi to blank East
Bengal 2-0 and reach the semifinal of the 122nd ONGC Durand
Cup football tournament here today.
|Last Updated: Sep 18, 2009, 08:03 PM IST|Source: Bureau
New Delhi: Defending champions Mahindra
United rode a double strike from Mohammed Rafi to blank East
Bengal 2-0 and reach the semifinal of the 122nd ONGC Durand
Cup football tournament here today.
Rafi struck in the 63rd and 66th minutes to help his side
earn a well-deserved win at the Ambedkar Stadium in their last
Group IV quarterfinal league match.
With this win, Mahindra collected four points -- the same
as Lajong FC -- but would advance to the semifinals from Group
IV on better goal difference.
The loss added to the cup of woes of East Bengal coach
Subhash Bhowmick who has been in the firing line after four
successive losses, including today`s, though his club had made
it clear that he would not get the boot.
The match turned sour for Mahindra coach David Booth too
as he was told to leave the bench by referee Mohd Kamil for
apparently arguing with him over a decision.
The match never rose to any height till the hour mark
with both the sides playing listless football even though the
Mumbai side mounted more attack.
Mahindra`s India right winger Steven Dias had a couple of
free-kicks and sent a few curling crosses but could not bulge
the East Bengal net before the breather.
East Bengal`s national team player Renedy Singh had a
curling right footer from just outside the Mahindra box in the
33rd minute but it missed the left post by a few yards.
Three minutes later, Mahindra captain and India
midfielder NP Pradeep shot wide from near the top edge of the
East Bengal box.
The match came to life after the hour mark with Mahindra
pumping in two quick goals, both by Rafi. He first beat East
Bengal goalkeeper Arup Debnath in an aerial contest before
nodding the ball home off a pinpoint cross from the right by
Dias in the 63rd minute.
Three minutes later, Rafi blasted home a low left-footed
grounder after a one-on-one with substitute Susanth Mathew
inside the East Bengal box.
Mahindra coach David Booth was elated with the outcome
but insisted not using any foul word to the referee.
"I did not use any foul word. I was just telling him that
one of our players was caught by an East Bengal player on the
waist. Anyway, it was his decision and I have to live with
it," he said.
Bureau Report
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