Youngmen upset Army XI, SBT triumph

Sanjeev Sharma, who scored the equaliser in the 65th minute, invigorated the entire team which was looking timid in the first session. Praveen Arora did the spadework as his inch-perfect cross from the right was powerfully headed home by Sharma. Exerting more and more pressure on their much-fancied rivals, for whom it was yet another defeat after the 1-2 loss to Mohun Bagan in the Sikkim Governor’s Gold Cup last week. Buyoued by the equaliser, Youngmen went all out for the elusive match-winner and to their delight, Praveen Arora’s goal, with only a minute left for the final whistle sparked off celebrations in their camp.

Earlier, State Bank of Travancore qualified for the play-off after getting the better of a depleted local league champions Indian Nationals 4-0. Asif Saheer was in tremendous form as the diminutive striker scored three goals while VP Shaji was the other scorer. Saheer opened the floodgates in the 19th minute when he rose above everyone in the six-yard to head home. The team’s second goal came when Asif put in a low cross from the right with a powerful right-footer. Leading by 2-0 at the interval, the bankmen scored two more goals through VP Shaji (48th minute) and Asif (56th minute) to complete the formalities.

Today’s match: Bhutan XI vs Indian National (1 pm); Tata Football Academy vs Youngmen (3 pm).