Manjit Singh saves Mahindras blushes

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26: Defending champions Mahindras fell just short of making a mockery of themselves in their first match of the Durand Cup, even though the scoresheet might indicate otherwise. Mahindras beat Bhutan XI 3-1 in Group A at the Ambedkar Stadium today, with Manjit Singh scoring twice and a self-goal by Bhutan midfielder Ugyen Dorji adding to the tally. The Himalayan kingdom’s Dinesh Chettri reduced the margin in the 89th minute when there was nothing left in the match.

The second match of the day provided the first upset of the tournament, when late entrants Punjab State Electricity Board beat Border Security Force 2-1. PSEB, last minute replacements for Nepal XI, went into lead with a Sukhbir snap-strike in the 10th minute. It took the more fancied BSF 40 minutes to equalise through Tapan Bhattacharya, but they saw the game slip away just 15 minutes later when PSEB’s Dalip Kumar scored with his third attempt after making a mess of a penalty.

The Mahindras-Bhutan XI game was much moreone-sided with the Mumbai team having the lion’s share of ball-possession. Satish Minz was the livewire in the midfield, feeding strikers Abbas Rizvi and Manjit Singh with penetrating passes. The other medios, however, did not have much say in the game. Abhay Kumar stayed with the ball with little result and Khalid Siddique preferred to remain close to his defence.

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Bagan lift IFA Shield
CALCUTTA: Holders Mohun Bagan overcame stiff resistance from giant-killers Tollygunge Aggragami before scripting a solitary goal victory to retain the IFA Shield here today.

Substitute striker Abdul Khalique pumped in the match-winner just six minutes before the long whistle to help the glamour club lift the Shield for the 20th time, at the Salt Lake stadium.

After maintainig a stranglehold for most part of the contest, the speedy Khalique found the target with a crisp volley.