TFA boys win, fail to impress

Published>Wed, Oct 20 10 05:53 AM

In a closely fought contest Tata Football Academy, Jamshedpur defeated Uttarakhand Police 2-1 in the Durand Cup qualifers here. A regular in the tournament since the early 1990's, TFA's runner-up finish in 1995 has been their best showing to date. But the present batch of TFA boys don't seem to be in the same league. Their inexperience was evident in their dribbling and passing. Besides, their lack of fitness peeped through in the closing stages of the game.

TFA coach Vijay Kumar was quick to emphasise that his boys were anything but finished products and many of his first-team players were not available for Durand Trophy. "TFA grooms players from the age of 16 to 19. We usually play our senior-most boys in this tournament. But this time many have other commitments. Out of our first playing 11, six players are in China with the Indian squad preparing for the Asian under-19 Youth Championships. Two of our stars are injured. In effect we are playing with just three of our regular players. The rest are boys who have just joined the Academy, so we are really not at our strongest," he said.

TFA started off strongly as they strung together several series of passes. A defence splitting pass in the 7th minute found Pankaj Sona, who completed a nerveless finish. However, as the TFA youngsters looked to add to their early strike, Uttarakhand Police looked to counter strike. TFA goalkeeper Gurdeep Singh had a big role to play in keeping the rival strikers at bay. He saved a couple of chances including a one-on-one moment against Veer Singh Negi. However Uttarakhand Police kept the pressure up and found the equaliser in the 30th minute when Negi made the most of a perfectly placed through-ball from Ashok Singh.

In the second half, the action grew lethargic as the TFA side which was creating most chances in the first half began to tire. The match seemed to be heading for a dull finish, but in the 75th minute 16-year-old Udanta Singh of Manipur found space in the right flank, produced a impressive burst of speed and his volley beat the Uttarakhand Police custodian. That proved to be winning goal of the match.

There will be stronger competition ahead for the side from Jamshedpur, which will pose a tougher test for them. However coach Vijay Kumar explains that for most of the players the tournament would be more of a learning experience than a career defining event. " Back home in Jamshedpur, we don't really have any team on a similar level. So at the Durand we have a chance to see where we stand."

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