The Hindu : Sport / Football : SBT no match for TFA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 07, 2006

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Sport - Football

SBT no match for TFA

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: Tata Football Academy (TFA) was hardly tested in its 2-0 win over a below par State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in the ONGC Cup NFL second division super league on Saturday evening. K. Paite and Vimal Pariyar were the scorers.

The victory helped TFA jump to second spot in the league with nine points, while Churchill Brothers leads with 10 points at the conclusion of fourth round matches.

The fifth and final round of matches — commencing here on Sunday and concluding with Tuesday's clash between Churchill Brothers and TFA — will decide the top two teams that will earn promotion to the senior division.

SBT caused the initial flutter even before the spectators had settled down, but with Abdul Hakkim finding Arindam Bhattacharya's gloves and Abdul Noushad chipping wide, the Kerala outfit began its tale of errors.

TFA found its bearings and Pariyar set off a few alarms in the rival camp. The SBT defence did not have a clue when Paite moved in from the left flank and volleyed past a diving Harshal Rahman in the 24th minute.

The goal seemed to have satiated TFA's appetite as the team rested on its lead at the break.

Four minutes into the second half, Pariyar scored the second goal. An on-the-run Pariyar headed in a Satish Kumar lob from the right extreme and as TFA took a 2-0 lead. SBT rung in a few substitutions but it did not matter in the end as its poor runcontinued.

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