Khalsa XI 8 Ordnance Factory 1

Starting with only 10 players as the full team failed to turn up, Ordnance still managed to find the net just once, when Ravi managed to hold on to a push from the imaginative Sadhanand with Johny having done the hard work. Goalkeeper Subba Lesley advanced too much and lay sprawled on the turf as Ravi put the ball into the unguarded citadel.

The margin would have been different had goalkeeper Bhanu not played competently in the Ordnance goal. The 8216;keeper, in trouble after a cramp in thesecond-half, kept imaginatively in the first-half and it was the constant Khalsa pressure that forced him to fall apart.

The first Khalsa strike came in the 10th minute when Sawant put Mayuresh through to open proceedings. Six minutes later, Ramesh8217;s infringement cost Ordnance dear as the umpire pointed to the spot. Even as the Ambernath players voiced their protests, Lawrence converted without hassles. Allan Fernandes ran down the centre of the pitch and sent a through to the hard-working Mayuresh who sent in a point-perfect reverse to take the score of 3-1 into half-time.

The monotonous barrage continued after the break with Mayuresh relentless in attack. He fed Sawant this time, four mintues into the second-half, to find the goal while Sawant himself slipped into the role of playmaker four minutes later to place Bhosale in the scorers8217; list.

One of Bhanu8217;s few blemishes came in the 50th minute when he failed to stop a marauding Mayuresh, who managed to wrong step the goalkeeper.

The team fulcrum,skipper Hardeep Singh Saini, got into the spotlight after he had worked quietly all along, encouraging his young team. He pushed Mayuresh forward whose shot was palmed by Bhanu. Sawant, lurking in the danger area, was quick on the rebound.

With the Ordnance players resigned to their fate, Lawrence exploited the situation three minutes from time. He sprinted past three leaden defenders to put the ball past Bhanu and end Ordnance8217;s misery.

Other results

Rebels Sports Club 2 Eustace Jacinto, Condrad Fernandes bt Sachivalaya Gymkhana 1 Zakhir Killedar; Indian Airlines 4 Shailendra Joshi 2, Renaldo Rodrigues, Jesuran bt Brothers Sports Club 1 Gilbert G; Bombay Republicans C 5 Mahesh R 2, Bosco Pereira 2, Gurpreet Singh bt Fr Agnel Balbhavan 0.