Young Challengers turned out to be too timid before the seasoned SBT as they were trounced 7-1 by the bankmen from Thiruvananthapuram. With this win, SBT have entered the final of the Federation Cup South Zone Qualifiers.
The scoring spree of SBT started early in the 5th minute of the game and Young Challengers had to accept the facile victory without any other option.
Skipper Abdul Noushad started it all by nicely dribbling the ball through the ad-lib defenders and scoring without much difficulty. In the 34th minute, it was Martin John's who doubled the lead when his shot blocked by Challenger's custodian rolled over the goal line.
Two minutes later, former Kerala State striker Asif Saheer netted a cross from Noushad with an impressive header. In the 38th minute, another attack from the left flank paved the way for Asif to score another goal, this time through a powerful shot on the right side of the net.
The scoreline read an impressive 4-0 lead for the bankmen.
In the second half, the story was not any different. Within the 30 minutes itself, substitute Muhammed Shafi and Abdul Hakkim scored a goal each and increased the lead further. The last goal from the bankmen came from striker Rakesh's legs when he dribbled the ball from the midfield to score a fantastic goal.
A surprise and consolation goal for Challengers came from Fernando Freedom in the last minute of the game. SBT goalie failed to understand the direction of the long ranger he took from about 25-yards away and gave a consolation goal for the Challengers. This was Fernando Freedom's second goal at the Federation Cup qualifiers after the winning goal he scored against Nethaji Sports Club in the first round.
SBT will vie against winner of the HAL vs. Titanium semifinal on 3rd December in the final.
Team
SBT
Harshal Rahman (GK), Sajith T, Abdul Basheer, Sarath B T, Kabeer A V, Muhammed Harris, Martin John, Abdul Noushad (Captain), Mushammed Aslam, Rakesh K, Asif Saheer.
Substitutes - Jeen Christian, Jose S, Edison D, Muhammed Shafi, Paul Antony, Abdul Hakkim.
Coach - Shaji V P
**Young Challengers
** E Muthuraman (GK), Virsaravanan, Dilli Baby K, Harris J, Arokyanathan Bentic (Captain), Jayaselvan R, Praveen Gandhi S, Sargunan S, Pragash N, Yuvaraj M, Fernando Freedon.
Substitutes - Murukan V, Santhosh Kumar P, Vishnodaya Mohan, Dinesh M, Vijay Anand, Naveen Kumar, Swaminathan A.
Coach - Latith Kumar Michael
Score
SBT 7 - 1 Young Challengers
Abdul Noushad (5) Fernando Freedon (89)
Martin John (34)
Asif Saheer (36), (38)
Muhammed Shafi (51)
Abdul Hakkim (70)
Rakesh (84)
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Monday 30 November 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.