Kenpachi Zaraki
09-01-2009, 03:15 AM
With the clock running down, Ali Diab's header cancelled out a wonderful goal from a free-kick by substitute Renedy Singh, sending the stands into a hush.
The equalizer towards the end of extra time almost broke the hearts of the 20,000 capacity crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium – which included Bollywood superstar Salman Khan – and those glued to their television sets.
But this Indian team is about discipline and resilience, instilled by the experienced Bob Houghton. Though crestfallen, they lifted themselves for the crucial tie-breaker and despite Renedy and substitute Mehrajuddin Wadao missing from the spot, goalkeeper Subrata Pal stepped up to the task.
India's number one keeper, deemed unsuitable by Calcutta giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and forced to shift base to Pune, had so far kept India in the hunt with some excellent work under the post.
But in the tie-breaker, he showed why he is India's best shot stopper as he single-handedly shut out Syria. The keeper blocked Wael Ayan, Ahmad Haj Mohamad and Hamzeh Al Aitounim's shots to give India a 5-4 win on penalties and 6-5 overall that helped them retain their "ONGC" Nehru Cup title.
And once again the Ambedkar Stadium proved to be India and Houghton's happy hunting ground as they picked up their third successive title here.
"It was a truly dramatic final," said Houghton as fans broke down a part of the stands and mobbed his boys.
This was indeed a nerve wrecking final, one full of ups and downs as both teams struggled hard for that advantage.
India's best chance came in the very first minute as Baichung Bhutia snatched the ball from Ali Diab and took a prompt that was blocked by goalkeeper Mosab Balhous. The skipper tried once again from the rebound but the keeper was alert.
India relied on the long ball to put pressure on the Syrian defence and at times would interchange positions to catch them off-guard.
While the Indians tried to chase every ball down, Syria started slowing the pace of the game and often switched flanks to bewilder the hosts.
As the first half wore on, the Indian midfield showed signs of strain and buckled under pressure, allowing Syria a lot of space. They came up with a few chances during this time -- once a Mohamed Al Zeno header went just over and before that Moutaz Kailouni sent his left-footer wide.
For Syria this was a battle of attrition. Having lost the final two years ago, they were desperate to make amends this time.
But their desperation spilled over to the bench. As Syria coach Fajer Ebrahim protested against a refereeing decision, the rest of the support staff too joined him. Their anger didn't seem to be restricted to the referee and his assistants and some choice words were hurled towards the India camp which made coach Bob Houghton furious. It needed the fourth referee to calm things down.
However, the Syrian camp went on with its antics and referee Adil Ali had to finally eject manager Mohammed Arefslo from the ground in injury time of the first period of extra time.
However, the Indians were unfazed and it was their discipline and hard work that saw them triumph in the end.
Gouramangi Singh and Anwar marshalled the central defence, Surkumar Singh did well to curb his attacking instincts was well supported by the Steven Dias, who often dropped deep to help on the right.
Mahesh Gawli was excellent in both his defensive and attacking role while the midfield quartet of Steven, Climax Lawrence, N.P. Pradeep and Anthony Pereira battled hard to give Bhutia and Sunil Chetri support.
In the end this was about teamwork and one which separates this side from the rest.
We did a Hat-trick of intl/ titles :D
The equalizer towards the end of extra time almost broke the hearts of the 20,000 capacity crowd at the Ambedkar Stadium – which included Bollywood superstar Salman Khan – and those glued to their television sets.
But this Indian team is about discipline and resilience, instilled by the experienced Bob Houghton. Though crestfallen, they lifted themselves for the crucial tie-breaker and despite Renedy and substitute Mehrajuddin Wadao missing from the spot, goalkeeper Subrata Pal stepped up to the task.
India's number one keeper, deemed unsuitable by Calcutta giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, and forced to shift base to Pune, had so far kept India in the hunt with some excellent work under the post.
But in the tie-breaker, he showed why he is India's best shot stopper as he single-handedly shut out Syria. The keeper blocked Wael Ayan, Ahmad Haj Mohamad and Hamzeh Al Aitounim's shots to give India a 5-4 win on penalties and 6-5 overall that helped them retain their "ONGC" Nehru Cup title.
And once again the Ambedkar Stadium proved to be India and Houghton's happy hunting ground as they picked up their third successive title here.
"It was a truly dramatic final," said Houghton as fans broke down a part of the stands and mobbed his boys.
This was indeed a nerve wrecking final, one full of ups and downs as both teams struggled hard for that advantage.
India's best chance came in the very first minute as Baichung Bhutia snatched the ball from Ali Diab and took a prompt that was blocked by goalkeeper Mosab Balhous. The skipper tried once again from the rebound but the keeper was alert.
India relied on the long ball to put pressure on the Syrian defence and at times would interchange positions to catch them off-guard.
While the Indians tried to chase every ball down, Syria started slowing the pace of the game and often switched flanks to bewilder the hosts.
As the first half wore on, the Indian midfield showed signs of strain and buckled under pressure, allowing Syria a lot of space. They came up with a few chances during this time -- once a Mohamed Al Zeno header went just over and before that Moutaz Kailouni sent his left-footer wide.
For Syria this was a battle of attrition. Having lost the final two years ago, they were desperate to make amends this time.
But their desperation spilled over to the bench. As Syria coach Fajer Ebrahim protested against a refereeing decision, the rest of the support staff too joined him. Their anger didn't seem to be restricted to the referee and his assistants and some choice words were hurled towards the India camp which made coach Bob Houghton furious. It needed the fourth referee to calm things down.
However, the Syrian camp went on with its antics and referee Adil Ali had to finally eject manager Mohammed Arefslo from the ground in injury time of the first period of extra time.
However, the Indians were unfazed and it was their discipline and hard work that saw them triumph in the end.
Gouramangi Singh and Anwar marshalled the central defence, Surkumar Singh did well to curb his attacking instincts was well supported by the Steven Dias, who often dropped deep to help on the right.
Mahesh Gawli was excellent in both his defensive and attacking role while the midfield quartet of Steven, Climax Lawrence, N.P. Pradeep and Anthony Pereira battled hard to give Bhutia and Sunil Chetri support.
In the end this was about teamwork and one which separates this side from the rest.
We did a Hat-trick of intl/ titles :D