TFA stunner knocks Salgaocar out

Assistant coach Carlton Chapman insisted on the retention of Tata Football Academy8217;s record of producing a stunner each year at the Durand Cup, as his team beat Salgaocar Football Club 2-0 in a Group B final pre-quarterfinal league match at the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday. Salgaocar, coming in as group-toppers with six points, needed a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals, but the scratchy first-half display gave spectators ample reason to anticipate a tie. The Jamshedpur players held fort against the Goan favourites, and on possession too, the equation was even.

However, after a sapping first half, things changed dramatically. In the 68th minute, the scoreboard read a convincing 2-0 in favour of TFA. Just when it was looking like one of those first-half moves that found too many defenders in the way, Jagtar Singh blasted one in from an incredible angle, justifying his jersey no 10 with a shot from 15 yards off the box. Salgaocar goalkeeper Proloy Dutta couldn8217;t do much as he was guarding the right end of the post. Ten minutes later, it was P Deepak8217;s turn to capitalise on defensive lapses from defender Eduardo Lacerda. Deepak latched onto the ball after the Brazilian miscued inside the box. In a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, the striker raced ahead to smash it into the top corner.

With just half an hour to go, the Goans pushed even harder. The combination of Sachin Gawas and Bijen Singh created at least four open chances in the next twenty minutes. Unfortunately for Salgaocar, though, the conversion rate didn8217;t improve and the worst came in the 73rd minute when they failed to convert a penalty 8212; Denzil Franco shooting wide of the post.

Earlier, ONGC defeated BSF 2-1 to finish third in the group. Skipper Tarif Ahmed scored twice for ONGC in the 32nd and 50th minute while Kamal Kishore netted BSF8217;s lone goal in the 8th.