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Tegh Bahadur football: Strikers gun down Hunters; face Infants on D-Day
The losing side played without five strong players who skipped the game to attend academic duties.
Pune A goal in each half was enough to see Strikers FC sail past Valley Hunters in the semi-finals of the 19th edition of the Guru Tegh Bahadur football tournament at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) ground on Thursday.
Strikers stamped their authority on the game with a goal in the 18th minute courtesy striker Subodh Lama. Hunters, sans three first choice defenders, struggled to keep shape and eventually conceded the decisive goal in the second half. Strikers FC will face Infants FC in the junior category final on Sunday.
Valley Hunters were forced to make five changes to the team that emerged victorious in the quarter-finals. Hunters’ skipper, Shriram Choudhary, confirmed that a few core players of his side were unavailable for the game because it was a weekday and they had academic duties to tend to. Strikers FC faced a similar challenge, but had the full squad at their disposal as some players skipped college to play in the semi-final.
As a result, Strikers went out all guns blazing as soon as the first half kicked-off. Retaining the quarter-final side saw cohesion amongst players. The passes were sticking as Hunters were pushed back into their own half, facing a barrage of attacks. Lama, who operates as a striker, dropped to the right wing for the game, allowing Abel Johnson to play ahead of himself.
The finisher
Lama was able to dribble past the Hunters defence with ease and cross with accuracy. Throughout the game, there were many instances in which Strikers were let down only because of poor finishing. Halfway through the first half, strikers Johnson and Amit Rawat squandered a few good chances to give their side a crucial and early advantage.
The deadlock was broken in the 18th minute of the game as Lama drifted in from the flank and decided not to pass it through to the forwards. The winger calmly dribbled past defender Sunny Deshmukh and placed the ball perfectly in the bottom right corner to give Strikers the lead. Astoundingly, the most menacing player on the pitch, Lama, was never marked properly throughout the game and that is where Hunters fumbled.
As majority of the attacks were coming down the right flank, a rare attack came from the left when Johnson dropped deep and tried to make his way into the Hunters’ box. No other Strikers player was inside the box as Johnson opted to whip in a cross instead of going for goal himself, leaving the Strikers’ coach furious in the dugout. Valley Hunters failed to get their passes right in the final third and did not test the Strikers keeper as the first half concluded with Strikers in possession of a narrow 1-0 lead.
The fightback
Valley Hunters were in a predicament, but came out looking sharp in the second half. Realising that they needed just one goal to level the semi-final up, the Hunters finally prowled forward with intent for the first time in the game. The first attack came to an end as the Strikers defence stood their ground and denied the strikers a way through to the keeper. Hunters launched another attack which drew Strikers’ keeper, Ankit Bahl, out to punch it clear.
Bahl punched the ball straight to Hunters’ midfielder, Nikhil Gaikwad. Gaikwad could not get power on his shot on goal, as he ended up lobbing it over the keeper, only to see his attempt cleared off the line by Strikers defender Sujit Rawat. While Hunters were emphasising on attack, they were almost punished on the counter-attack. Lama, yet again, managed to get past his marker as he crossed it into the box. Striker Rawat found himself inches away from nodding the ball into the net as it went out of play for a Hunters throw-in.
Moments after the miss, Lama drifted in again and found himself through on goal. The youngster could not get his second of the game after he was denied by a fabulous save from Hunters’ goalkeeper and skipper Choudhary. Choudhary went down at the correct moment to get his outstretched hand on the ball as it rolled away from goal before it was parried away to safety.
Hunters came close again as they were awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal. Midfielder VR Nagappan unleashed a powerful strike from the set-piece and it was accurately aimed for the top-right corner. However, the equaliser was denied by keeper Bahl, who came up with a magnificent save as he managed to get his fingers on the ball, which was enough to guide it over the bar and out for a corner.
The final blow
Strikers FC attacker Rawat was having a tough run throughout the game as he fluffed his lines on several occasions. In the second half, the striker missed yet again from Lama’s cross. A few moments later, the forward redeemed himself as he cut in from the left, escaped a tackle from his marker and slotted it past a helpless Hunters keeper to drive the final nail in the coffin.
The second goal was a dagger to the heart for Valley Hunters’ players as they were discouraged and fatigued. Three Hunters attackers managed to skip the offside trap from a quick free-kick, but they failed to bring the ball down as it was eventually cleared by the sturdy Strikers defence. Strikers finished the game on a high as Vishal Kumar beat two defenders and crossed the ball in from the left, but no one got the final touch on it as the final whistle blew, confirming Strikers FC’s presence in the final of the tournament.
“We were quite good today. Thankfully, we were not lethargic in any area of the pitch. We were committed to what we were doing, whether it was shooting, passing or tackling. Ahead of the final, we do need to work on our communication. Apart from that, I think we are playing really well, said Subodh Lama, HT Player of the Match, Strikers FC.
“We were without some of our core players today. We have to work on our stamina because the players were tired and lazy out there. These two elements were the main reason for our dismal performance. It is a part of the game, so we just have to put this result behind us and focus on the next tournament, “ said Shriram Choudhary, captain, Valley Hunters.
