Bengal too good for Services

Both the sides never seemed to be in a hurry for the first 45 minutes. Bengal packed their defence tight, and lay in wait, forcing their rivals to float in high crosses, the kind that the Bengal defence thrived on.

Bengal began moving the ball more quickly, and used the width of the field with more purpose, once they realised the danger of allowing room for Preetam Bahadur and Sajith Kumar.

In the Services midfield, Irudayaraj was not much of a force, and Amar Bahadur Thapa, who occasionally darted forward for passes in the middle, got little support from his colleagues. Efforts by Thapa to combine with Sajith and Fernandes and mount raids were not sustained to gain clear advantage. The Bengal were refreshingly more fluid in the second half, thanks mainly to the induction of James Singh in their midfield in place of N Khemtang. Ratan Singh and Hossain Mustafa, besides bolstering the deep defence, found time and room to advance and position themselves to receive the ball and initiate attacks.

Bengal settled down quickly, with James and RP Singh flitting into spaces behind the rivals. They started their scoring spree in the 52nd, when Raman Vijayan nodded home a Ratan Singh lob from behind, after the ball was transported into the Services half, off a counter-attack.

Fifteen minutes later James Singh sprinted down the left, and drew Rajesh Kumar Singh close to him, before virtually walking the ball in, for the second goal.

Raman Vijayan was on the target again in the 74th, snatching a half-cleared ball from inside the box, and releasing a 12-yard shot. A similar attempt by James Singh from the top of the box, off a RP Singh pass, made it 4-0.

VIJAYAN FIT: Kerala, who take on Karnataka in their second league match of Group X on Friday, will field IM Vijayan, free from his fitness problems. Captain Jo Paul Ancheri, who played in the midfield against Services, is likely to figure in the central defence.

Friday’s matches: Maharashtra vs Punjab (4.30); Kerala vs Karnataka (6.30).