Railways end Mumbai hopes

Railways’ Suraj Lata Devi, who was later declared the player of the semifinal, received a long diagonal pass from the right flank, dribbled into the circle and sent a sizzling shot from top of the D and Pritam Siwach, who was lurking near the far post, lunged to deflect home and avoid the embarrassment of a tie-breaker for Railways.

Railways, who are playing on grass after almost seven years, failed to come to terms with the surface and were held goalless during regulation time. Mumbai forced three penalty corners in the first three minutes but their short-corner drill left a lot to be desired. Railways failed to take a look at the rival goal till the eighth minute by which time Mumbai already had six abortive circle penetrations.

If Railway could not surge ahead despite dominating after initial hiccups, it was due to the stout-hearted show by Mumbai defenders Silvaniya Toppo and Jyoti Dodrai. Sylvania effectively bottled up Railways’ star striker Pritam Siwach while Jyoti gave admirable support to Toppo and the last line of defence too rose to the occasion with custodian Seema Lakra having a good match.

For Railways, a hardworking Sita Gossain did a splendid job as the play-maker but the outfit, which has 15 Indian stars, looked awfully out of form on the day. Thirteen short corners they earned are a proof of their domination in the rival 25-yard area but the conversion rate of zero paints a black picture.

The Railways goal also survived a couple of close calls but the top-scorer of the championship thus far, Mamta Kharab, was guilty of muffing chances. Her otherwise good work in creating a number of moves and the solid support she gave to the other dangerous striker, Shangai Chanu, proved futile.

In the second minute of the extra time, Mumbai missed a golden chance to seal the fate of the match when a Fatima Kujur’s long cross found Mamta free in the circle. But Mamta with only goalie Tingongleima Chanu to beat shot straight to the custodian, much to the delight of the later.

Haryana stretched: Earlier in the first semifinal, Punjab tested Haryana but were done in by a defensive lapse. Haryana did have an upper handand have seven short corners to show, but took 44 minutes to take the lead. Punjab goalkeeper Amandeep Kaur sat on the ball following a raid by Meenakshi and umpire Happy Mann had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot. Meenakshi took the stroke but the ball caressed the goalie’s gloves before entering the net. The goal turned out to be the match-winner as Haryana missed at least three easy chances towards the end with Indian star Surinder Kaur marked by Punjab defender Amandeep Kaur Jr.

Railway coach, Ashok Diwan, attributed no excuses to the poor show of his team but said it was just an off day and promised a better show in the final. Haryana will meet the Railways in a repeat final of last Nationals at Chennai where Haryana lost. But the giants lost to the Northern team in the Federation Cup at Tirupati last July, and thus Haryana will be no pushovers in the final which promises to be engrossing.