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Gujarat fall apart as Punjab knock in ten
Punjab entered the pre-quarterfinals of the Santosh Trophy from Cluster III with a thumping 10-1 win over Gujarat in their final qualifying group league match at the Mohun Bagan ground on Tuesday, reports HT Correspondent.
Punjab entered the pre-quarterfinals of the Santosh Trophy from Cluster III with a thumping 10-1 win over Gujarat in their final qualifying group league match at the Mohun Bagan ground on Tuesday.
Punjab will take on Cluster IV champions Manipur at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Thursday for a place in the quarterfinal group league. Manipur got the better of Jammu & Kashmir 2-0 in their final group match at the Khardah stadium.
At the Howrah stadium, a resounding 6-0 win by Nagaland over Pondicherry in Cluster III was not enough for them to advance. They finished behind Punjab.
Needing a draw to advance, Punjab began cautiously against Gujarat, who looked very organised initially. But once former East Bengal striker Praveen Kumar found the net following a lovely through pass from Amandeep Singh in the 23rd minute, the floodgates opened.
Praveen and substitute Balwant Singh scored a brace each and Amandeep Batra completed a hattrick in the 66th minute with a long-range right-footer. Gujarat goalkeeper Madansinh Chauhan had a torrid time, as most of the goals he conceded were stoppable, including the one that got Batra his hattrick.
It seemed strange that despite knowing about the firepower of their rivals, Gujarat did not crowd their penalty area. They laid offside traps upto the halfway mark and on most occasions they backfired because of the lack of coordination among the defenders.
Despite the win, Punjab coach Jagir Singh will be worried about his defence, which showed signs of cracking up under pressure from the Gujarat forwards. Against Manipur, his defence is sure to come under stress and that could give Jagir sleepless nights.
