Manipur make exit after 0-0 draw with Chhattisgarh

Gurgaon, Sep 26 (UNI) Former champions Manipur made a shock exit from the 61st National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy after they were held to a goalless draw by Chhattisgarh in a Cluster V tie which also saw their star defender Surkumar Singh being sent off for dangerous play here today.

In a high-intensity match, in which three Chhattisgath players were also yellow carded, Manipur threatened to score several times but the lack of clinical finishing by their forwards and some excellent goalkeeping by Krishna Kumra Kalsiya meant that the north-eastern team finished with equal points with their rivals but lost out on goal difference.

By virtue of a 7-0 victory against Himachal Pradesh, Chattisgarh advanced to the pre-quarterfinals as they had a goal difference of seven against Manipur's four. In fact, winners of the 2003 edition, Manipur paid the price for not winning against Andhra Pradesh after blanking Himachal 4-0.

In their must-win tie today, Manipur put up their best show in the tourney and did everything but score.

They began the match with a flourish but could not get the things going till the 20th minute when international Surkumar Singh was given marching orders by referee Biswajit Kar for elbowing a rival player on the nose.

As if shaken out of slumber, a 10-man Manipur got their act together and played with a sense of urgency.

In the 25 the minute, a Bijen Singh cross from the right flank was controlled well by Renedy Singh, who essayed a measured pass from the left edge of the box to Chitrasen Singh. However, his right-footed volley was brilliantly saved by the custodian, who dived full-length to his right to clear the ball for a corner.

Manipur had a half-chance in the dying minutes of the first half but Samson Singh's well-directed left footer was punched away by the goalie.

In the second half, Manipur continued to press for a goal and just a minute after the breather, Chhattisgarh goalkeeper was in thick of action again when he plucked the pole before reaching the head of Manipur defender Narakanta Singh from a Renedy Singh corner.

Ten minutes later, a Renedy Singh free kick from just outside the box found the target but goalkeeper Kalsiya managed to touch the ball to clear it over the bar.

For the next half-an-hour, a desperate Manipur played an all-out attacking game but failed to breach the rival citadel with Chhattisgarh crowding their defence sending only two players upfront.

Chhattisgarh now play in the pre-quarterfinal knockout round with Cluster VI winners which will be decided by the match between Nagaland and Karnataka here tomorrow.

Chhattisgarh coach Sapan Roy, who started celebrations even before the final whistle, told UNI later that his boys played to the plan of not giving free space to Manipur forwards.

''I am very happy with the perfomance of my boys. We defeated a team studded with international players and top guns from NFL. We are confident that we will be able to move into the quarterfinals.'' A disappointed Manipur coach Shanti Kumra Singh said his forwards failed to break the deadlock in the crucial match.

''We were unlucky not to have won the match. We were clearly the better team but my forwards let the team down. They lacked physical fitness and were outpaced by rival defenders.'' Manipur captain Renedy Singh also agreed with his coach and blamed his forwards for the debacle.

Earlier, in an inconsequential Cluster V tie, Andhra Pradesh blanked Himachal Pradesh 4-0. Andhra Pradesh led 3-0 at the half time. Ayaz Bin Abdul Haq scored a fine brace while Syed Altafuddin Ahmed and Mohd Fareed also contributed in the team's win.

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