BSF lift Nehru title in lacklustre final

Despite the occasional bursts from either side, the game failed to pick any kind of momentum to sustain the interests. BSF, in particular, was guilty of not pressing home the advantage after taking the lead in the 20th minute. Instead, BSF fortified their defence with four players and left things take its own course.

That, in a way, blunted whatever little teeth they had acquired in their attack after their first goal. PSB, on their part, also failed to mount pressure and their most dependable forward Ram Saran was left to fend for himself with occasional passes coming his way. Sanjeev Kumar Dang, to some extent, played better but they could not force the pace against a tight BSF defence.

However, BSF had the better of exchanges but the ball control was pathetic, to say the least. Even with those right passes, the forwardline failed in its endeavour to convert the chances. Herenz delayed after Peter Tirkey provided him with a neat pass in the initial stages. Herenz again hit from close only to be padded away by goalkeeper Jasjit Singh.

All the while, PSB made only one worthwhile move with Sanjeev Kumar placing the ball for Ram Saran to do the rest. But the latter hit it straight to keeper Teja Singh.

It took either team 20 minutes to force the first penalty corner. That speaks volumes of the pace of the game. Herenz sounded the board after Kuljinder Singh sent a pass to him. In the next minute, PSB earned their first but it was wasted.

After the breather, Topno failed to connect a fine pass from Herenz on the right. Thus a good opportunity was wasted. But in the 56th minute a defence lapse by Bhupinder, who failed to clear Ranjit Singh’s shot, cost them dearly as they soon found out. The ball went to Topno who placed it to the left of the PSB goalkeeper. Within two minutes of this second goal by BSF, Parminder shot home a Harpreet Channi pass. That was all they could do as BSF saw through the remaining minutes to safety.

PSB, for their effort, received Rs. 30,000. There were also several other cash prizes, which included Rs. 5,000 each to four best players and the team that converted most penalty corners received Rs 10,000.

Earlier, IHF Blues defeated SAIL 5-2 to take the third place. Gagan Ajit Singh, Daljit Singh Dhillon (3) and Gursevak Singh were the scorers while Prakash Chalke and Mangra Munda scored for SAIL. IHF Blues received Rs 20,000.