Published>Thu, Nov 18 10 06:24 AM
Government High School, Kadmat go down 25-0 to Takshashila Academy of Nepal in their match on Wednesday in Subroto Cup
Preparing an U-14 football team for an inter-school match, all coaches tell their wards to defend well, aim for a couple of goals. Darshan Bhakt Raj, coach of Nepal's Takshashila Academy had promised a treat to anyone who scored five goals in a match. But coming to India to play at the Subroto Cup, Raj would probably never have imagined that his team would beat their opponents- Lakshadweep's Government High School, Kadmat by a margin of 25 -0.
The afternoon rains that showered over Ambedkar Stadium may have come in stops and starts but the flood of goals that entered the goal-mouth of Lakshadweep's school never abated. Goals seemingly went in every alternate minute in the sixty minutes of play. For the winners Heman Gurung scored nine goals and Krishna Raj Lama scored five.
The feat though astounding is not unprecedented. Old timers recall a 28 goal thrashing in the U-14 category some 10-years back at the Subroto Cup. In terms of sheer dominance though it will be hard to replicate Wednesday's match. The ball scarcely left the Lakshadweep half and they never even got the ball near Takshashila's goal. For most of the match, the Nepal goalkeeper stood outside the penalty box, even kicking the ball towards his strikers from inner midfield a couple of times in the second half to hasten the goal scoring spree.
But despite the quarter century of goals that went against his team, Lakshadweep coach Anwar did not criticise his team. He instead blamed the loss on age falsification. "We are the only team who has brought players of the correct age in Subroto Cup. I don't think the Nepal players who played today were under 14. Football is a body contact sport and our players were almost scared to go near their opponents who were physically much bigger. You can tell by the strength in the free kick of a player whether they are as young as they say or not," Lakshadweep's coach Anwar said.
Though, Lakshadweep schools participate in school nationals and often train in Kerala, this was the first competitive outing of this particular team out of the island and inexperience could only have added to their Wednesday debacle. Indeed after realising the strength of their opponents they seemingly accepted their fate.
For example after initially having taken a few strong kicks on his chest, Lakshwadeep goalkeeper Sajid Khan decided not even to dive for the kicks that came his way. Khan would often just watch the ball go past him and his you-can't-miss smile after every goal, made a spectators exclaim "is he out for a morning walk?"
Coach Anwar though defended him. "He played well, he made some crucial saves. We recently played against a team in Kerala, where we drew 1-1. This is Lakshadweep's best school team but they just couldn't cope against stronger players today," Anwar added.
Despite ruining Lakshadweep's all-Muslim team's Eid celebrations with the gigantic defeat, the Nepali team were not gloating. "I am rather sad at today's situation, the little boys were giving their best but were unable to compete well. The real test of my players is yet to come," Takshashila's coach Darshan Bhakta Raj said. The next match in Pool H is to be played between Manipur and Lakshadweep and unless Manipur manages a similar winning margin, the Nepal team will qualify to the next stage from this group.
Source: Web Search
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