Bengal escape to victory

Rough tackles flew in from both sides after Services reduced the margin, and the referee Braz Rodrigues found himself crowded by the fuming players frequently in the second half.

Bengal made good use of their pace to throw theServices off their stride. They lay in wait, let the Services move the ball about in short diagonals, lulled them into a false belief that the passes were safe and then darted forward eighter to intercept or hustle them into erratic realease of the ball.

The Services knew well that a good part of threat to their goal would emnate from Baichung Bhutia, and in the first half had at least three men to surround and harry him in possession.

Baichung, urged on by a goodly crowd, nodded home a Falguni Dutta pass, which was floated brilliantly into the box from 30 yards away on the left. With a phalanx of defenders rushing to dispossess him, Raman Vijayan who leapt for the ball missed it by a whisker, while Baichung, left almost unmarked behind him lunged for a firm header.

Services suffered yet another jolt, when the referee awarded Bengal a spot kick, following a 22nd minute foul on Baichung Bhutia by the defender Moni Thombi. The ace striker, while blazing his way into the box past a startled Servicesdefence, was brought down with a tackle. Prasantho Mukherjee was left gaping as Baichung’s hit struck the upright before going in.

The Services plugged the loose ends in their defence, and roared back into the game, throwing more men in serch of a goal. Lal Machuana and Arockya Nathan hit the woodwork with scorching shots from the top of the box. The Services, who finally started sidestepping the tackles of Franky Barreto and and Anit Ghosh, struck in the 37th.

Tomorrow’s fixtures: Services vs Manipur (Group I), Kerala vs Maharashtra (Group III), Goa vs Chandigarh (Group II).