Hosts Delhi begin on a winning note

Hosts Delhi got off to a rollicking start with a 6-0 rout of Gujarat while Uttar Pradesh got a walkover against Arunachal Pradesh as the 59th IOC National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy kicked off in New Delhi on Friday.

In the day's other matches, former champions Maharashtra got the better of Jharkhand 2-1 in Cluster IV. In Cluster III, Railways blanked Uttranchal 3-0 while Bihar held Chandigarh to a goalless draw.

The inaugural match of the tournament, played at the Ambedkar Stadium, saw Mohun Bagan player Sunil Chetri strike four goals as Delhi crushed Gujarat's challenge in style in Cluster II.

Delhi, who took some time to settle into a rhythm, struck through the Mohun Bagan player in the 11th and 26th minutes before Faiz Alam, who partnered Chetri in attack, slammed home the hosts' third goal in the 43rd.

Changing ends, Delhi gave no respite to the Gujarat defence and Chetri struck two more in the 47th and 83rd minutes before Sumit Thapa completed the humiliation for Gujarat in injury time.

Delhi, winners of the last edition they hosted in 1944, will now take on Madhya Pradesh in their next match on Sunday. Assam is the fourth team in the cluster.

It was a fine start to the tournament for Delhi who were served well by their star players from Kolkata and Goa including captain Rishi Kapoor and Prasant Jaggi besides Chetri. The Gujarat players were found wanting in all the areas of the game and the biggest let down for the side was the show by defenders who left the rival players unmarked time and again.

Chetri's first goal surprised Gujarat who managed to keep Delhi at bay for the first 10 minutes.

Following a quick move through the right by defender Praveen Rawat, the ball came to Chetri who easily beat Gujarat custodian Parvesh Kumar with a first time shot. But in the very next minute it looked as if Gujarat will restore parity when Harvinder Chauhan forced Delhi 'keeper Rajat Guha to fist away a rasping shot from the edge of the box.

Gujarat again showed the will to fight and this time forward Santosh Pal advanced through the right side. But with just Guha to beat, Pal lost control and the Delhi 'keeper averted the danger.

As the match progressed, all the weaklinks in the Gujarat team were exposed as Delhi hammered goals at regular intervals.

At the Thyagraj Stadium, Maharashtra wasted a plethora of chances but managed to scrape past Jharkhand 2-1 to launch their campaign on a winning note.

The former champions dominated the duel throughout but failed to convert the numerous chances that came their way. They instead came under pressure in the last 15 minutes as went into their shell in the face of repeated thrusts by the Jharkhand forwards.

Centre forward Alex Ambrose (14th minute) and right out Appa Rao (24th minute) scored for the winners while Lal Mohan Handsdah pulled one back in the 64th for Jharkhand.