Upsets aplenty in
Round 13 of NFL

S. Ayyappa Swamy

The National Football League, which is in its fifth edition, took a dramatic beating on Wednesday, March 14. Not one or two upsets, but three of the four matches played provided shocking results.

And taking the cake of 'em all was State Bank of Travancore's rousing 4-2 win over defending champions Mohun Bagan in Thiruvananthapuram.

SBT have traditionally done well in home matches. This season they have had more away matches than home at the start and that quite put paid to coach Mohd. Najeeb's aspirations. But in three previous NFL matches so far, two last year and one this year, SBT have never put it across the mighty Mohun Bagan.

On Wednesday they did it in style. They were up 3-0 at half-time, with the nippy T Asif Saheer, who National coach Sukhwinder, unfortunately, does not consider India material, scoring two, and Abdul Hakim, who is the Pre-World Cup camp, one. Brazilian Jose Barretto got the reducer for Mohun Bagan before the break but there was no let-up for the Calcutta giants as T. Shabbir Ali made it 4-2 with a brilliant solo after Barretto had added one more to his earlier tally of four.

It was Najeeb's second win in a row at home, having bested another champion, Salgaocar, in the 12th round. And for the second successive match, Asif Saheer got two goals to take his overall tally to five.

For a team which has only 11 points from eight matches and have scored only two victories, SBT have another player in the top scorers' list, as even Hakim has five goals. Some achievement this.

Shock No.2 was reserved for Salgaocar Sports Club, champions of the third NFL. The Goan outfit lost 0-1 to Tollygunge Aggragami, in Calcutta.

Salgaocar are going through such a dark phase that there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It was their fourth successive defeat, the previous three coming at the hands of Vasco, Mahindra United -- all teams with fewer points than them.

Salgaocar have now been stuck on 19 points since the last two weeks.

And it could not have come at more terrible time for them. They have just sacked their foreign player Gbenga Lawal for creating unrest in the side. The midfielder apparently demanded extra money and also incited the other foreigners and a couple of Goan players in the side too. The management did not take it too kindly and quickly issued a sack notice after Lawal failed to answer a show-cause notice.

Shock No. 3 was provided by Indian Telephone Industries, who got past Mahindra United by a fortuitous goal. Lucky, because Mahindra goalkeeper Virender Singh has been in such excellent form that it was one area that the Bombay side had well covered. Now Virender will be available only for two more matches after which he will be leaving for national duty.

These three results mean that the seismic activity at the bottom of the 12-team table has increased and a major quake looks imminent. Apart from inaugural year champions Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills, Phagwara, who are still in single digits at six from 13 rounds and at rock bottom, the others are slowly threatening the middle-level teams, especially the two from Bombay -- Air-India and Mahindra United.

SBT are still No. 11 with 11 points. A point ahead are ITI. Tollygunge and Air-India are on 13 while Mahindra United are on 14. Churchill are not far ahead on 16.

At this stage, one thing has come out crystal clear. The 5th NFL has become a two-horse race with East Bengal, who beat Churchill 2-1 at home, and FC Kochin, who got past Air-India by a similar margin in an away tie, consolidating their position at the top.

The Calcutta red and golden yellow brigade continue to rule the roost with 30 points with Kochin breathing down the neck one point behind.

Best goal: SBT Sabir Ali’s solo against Mohun Bagan, in Thiruvananthapuram.

Best match: SBT beating Mohun Bagan 4-2, in Thiruvananthapuram

Disappointment: Salgaocar losing to Tollygunge Aggragami.

Results of the 13th round:

Air-India lost to FC Kochin 1-2, at Bombay
SBT beat Mohun Bagan 4-2, at Thiruvananthapuram
Tollygunge Aggragami beatSalgaocar 1-0, at Calcutta
ITI beat Mahindra United 1-0, at Bangalore
East Bengal beat Churchill Brothers 2-1, at Calcutta
JCT drew with Vasco 0-0, at Ludhiana.

Related reports

FC Kochin lead National Football League race
F C Kochin stay ahead
Salgaocar close in on early leaders
Mohun Bagan well-placed after five rounds
Air India, Mahindra in a spot - Summary of Round 6
East Bengal high in the saddle - Summary of Round 7
East Bengal on top for second week - Summary of Round 8
Three in close race - Summary of Round 9
Prakash's hat-trick high point of Round 10
Bungo Singh, R C Prakash steal the limelight
F C Kochin stay unbeaten, but just about