SBT's Martin John and skipper Abdul Noushad scored a goal apiece to shut out Malabar United in the first game of the Federation Cup South Zone Qualifying Round held in the Corporation Floodlit stadium at Kozhikode.
With a superior technique and better coordination, SBT outplayed Malabar and made several chances in the first 20 minutes of the game. As a curtain raiser to the first goal, SBT came close to breaking the deadlock when the header from striker Rakesh just missed by an inch in the 13th minute.
In the 14th minute, a defensive lapse in the Malabar box made way for the first goal when a fine high ball from SBT's diminutive striker Asif Saheer, which could have been easily cleared by the three Malabar defensive players, was headed by Martin John to score the first goal in the Federation Cup South Zone qualifiers this year.
Within 6 minutes of the first goal, SBT skipper Abdul Noushad doubled the lead with a fine header from a cross by Martin.
The SBT defence then nailed down any attempt by Malabar. Malabar's winger Prasoon R was the only player who played consistently and made some good chances for the team in the game. After his some consecutive and single-handed offensives, which were hampered by sloppy finishing and lack of speed from his team mates. However in the 29th minute, Malabar striker Javed scored a surprise goal from a well-set cross from Prasoon.
Malabar could not capitalise from the goal, as SBT' winger Martin John and striker Rakesh raided the Malabar box consistently. In a breath-taking move, Rakesh tried a scissor cut and almost scored but the cross bar played a spoilsport for the striker.
The second half saw some good efforts from SBT's Noushad and Rakesh. They had plenty of chances to score but missed narrowly. The duo tried to penetrate into the penalty area of MU but some impeccable tackling efforts by Jithesh C K made it difficult for them to score.
Apart from these efforts, SBT tried to hold on to their lead by taking away much possession from Malabar and putting their midfield to severe test. Most of the attacks from Malabar ended outside the SBT penalty box.
SBT 's C J Rinil was shown the red card after receiving two yellows during the game and will miss the next match. Also, Malabar's Jitheesh C K was shown a yellow card for an intentional hand ball towards the end of the game.
SBT now await the winner of the match between Tamil Nadu's Nethaji SC and Pondicherry's Young Challengers. They have enough time to recoup their energy before the next match on the 30th of November.
However, it's curtains for promising Malabar United at the Federation Cup. They now go back to the drawing board and will need to rethink their strategy again before the Kerala State Club Championships.
Teams:
SBT:
Harshal Rehman, Mohammed Harris, Abdul Basheer M, Sarath BT (Abdul Hakkim MA 85'), Sajith T, Abdul Noushad (C), Renil CJ, Kabeer AB, Martin John, Asif Saheer (Mohammed Aslam 75'), Rakesh.
Substitutes: Jean Christian, Jose S, Edison D, Mohammed Shafi, Paul Antony
Coach: VP Shaji
Malabar United:
Siyas P, Vincent S, Unni Krishnan PV, Jineeshraj KV, Jithesh CK (C), Jacken Sebastian, Shamjith V, Sharat Babu P, Prasoon R, Firos K, Javed PA
Substitutes: Jaafer A, Moun Gangte, Rasheed M, Sushil Kumar PM, Mangson Gangte, Benjamin Haokip, Pramod P
Coach: Ashok Kumar
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 28 November 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.