It was a disappointing end for the Delhi team who despite their efforts to produce a win against Mizoram in the quarter-final phase of the Santosh Trophy,could only settle for a goalless draw. The draw,Delhis third in a row means Delhi lost the much coveted semi-final birth. Delhi managed to garner only three points which gives them the third spot in the table,top two teams being West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. A win against Mizoram could have turned the tables around since the points would have then matched those of Bengal and Tamil Nadu. But having played dominating football throughout the league,Delhis unsuccessful run in the quarter-final phase doesnt do justice to their glorious start in the Santosh Trophy. It is indeed disappointing that we could not manage a win against Mizoram. We have the capabilities but the way the quarters have been played,the team has totally under-performed, said coach Ranjeet Thapa. The veteran international also expressed that his scoring line has faltered in converting easy chances into goals which has led Delhi to an ouster from the tournament. We could have easily scored 3-4 goals but our strikers squandered easy chances. This is not the way matches are won, Thapa shrugged. The coach also pointed out that taking a lead is an important pressure building tactic in such games but was completely lacking in Wednesdays tie. We should have wonHe said his boys were not able to capatalise on the efforts from the midfield that enabled Mizoram to play a good defensive game. When you are not scoring,no body lets you score. Mizoram is a good side but we were far better and we should have won, Thapa said. According to Delhi team custodian,Pranoy Roy,the team was not its usual self when it took the field against Mizoram. He felt that it was a dull display of football by his team. We did not play to the mark. I dont know but something was missing in the team play. After the first half,Mizoram was an entirely different,charged up team and then they gave us no chance to penetrate their defence, said Roy. However,the only saving grace for the local side is that they remained unbeaten in the eight matches they played in the tournament.
