Sangam hold slight edge

PUNE, JUNE 20: Action-filled soccer is in the offing when Sangam Young Boys square up to Roopali in the final of the S M Joshi Memorial F...

PUNE, JUNE 20: Action-filled soccer is in the offing when Sangam Young Boys square up to Roopali in the final of the S M Joshi Memorial Football tournament at the AFK Ground here tomorrow.

The teams have taken contrasting paths to the title round. Roopali have come through thick and thin. Sangam, barring a hiccup or two, have progressed unruffled.

All the same, the teams pack a mighty punch what with combative players in their ranks. Either defence, especially, have got what it takes. Vikram Torse for Roopali and Rawat for Sangam have been bulwarks 8212; physique coming before skills. Besides rival attackers who stand the risk of being flummoxed, it8217;s the officials who would need to be equally alert as crunching tackles are likely to be the order of the day.

Sibling rivalry will make for interesting viewing in tomorrow8217;s final. The Pathan brothers, strikers both, will be the cynosure in this respect 8212; Sayyed for Roopali and Javid in the green colours of the Sangamwadi team.

Roopali began their campaign, quelling the spirited challenge of NDA Youth in their opener via the tie-breaker. They later won a seemingly lost battle against Falcon, prevailing once again via the shoot-out. But their win over Thundercatz in the semi-final must have sounded a warning as they cruised into the final with a 4-1 victory, their prolific scorer Bapu Raikar chipping in with two of the goals.

Besides Torse, the Roopali defence boasts of Avinash Bansode and Balchandran Bhosale who have caused some hassles for the rival strikers. In the midfield Ajay Bankhela, Milind Kadam and Vinod More have kept their forwards busy. And up front Sayyed Pathan, Raju Jaganathan and the dashing Bapu Raikar should cause some worry for the Sangam defenders.

Roopali keeper Anup Jadav must curb his impulse to rush out. His impetuosity has caused bouts of anxiety for his defenders.

Story continues below this ad

Sangam Young Boys have shown that they are cool customers. Their temperament augurs well for their prospects. On paper and form, Sangam skipper Raju Nikam should hold the trophy aloft on the morrow.

Sangam8217;s agile custodian, Vijay Kumar, could be the rival forwards8217; stumbling block. Vijay8217;s anticipation and reflexes has held his side8217;s defence in good stead.

Mid-fielder Mani Vishwanathan along side Kiran Sawant and Javid Pathan have combined well with forwards Nikam and Malcolm Rodrigues.

And should prolific striker Raju Thorat return, Sangam8217;s attack would receive a further boost. Thorat is yet to take the pitch in the tourney for reasons better known to the team8217;s think-tank.
Kick-off time: 4.00 p.m.