BHUBANESWAR 16-May-2011 565
Orissa flattered to deceive in the 65th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, which was held at different venues in Assam from May 6 to 28. The 20-member team, led by Hrushikesh Behera, got off to a flying start, trouncing Himachal Pradesh 6-0 and Nagaland 4-0 in their first two league matches in Clubster-VI.
But in the third and last cluster match, they suffered a humiliating 1-6 defeat against Delhi on May 16 to crash out of the championship. The defeat came as a shock because Delhi were not so strong a side. They won their previous two cluster matches against Nagaland 2-0 and Himachal Pradesh 4-1. Despite taking lead first, the Orissa crumbled like a pack of cards, allowing Delhi to score at will for a cake-walk victory.
Earlier on May 12, Sanatan Nayak and Gokul Oram scored a brace, while Antu Murmu and Sidharth Sankar Pruseth contributed one goal each to power Orissa to delightful win over Himachal.
The glittering start proved no fluke as Orissa rode on a goal each by Sanatan Nayak, Lala Sudhansu Sekhar Ray, Antu Murmu and Sidharth Kankar Pruseth to annihilate Nagaland 4-0 on May 14. But the stunning defeat against Delhi dashed their hopes for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Even the blessings of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, whom the team met at Bhubaneswar on May 4, could not save Orissa from the embarassing defeat. It was not known as to why Football Association of Orissa officlas were so keen to set up the team`s meeting with the Chief Minister. It may have provided good publicity mileage to the Chief Minister and FAO president Debasis Samantaray, who is also an MLA, but did no good to the team.
Orissa team: Goalkeepers: Saroj Pradhan (Cuttack), Ramesh Nayak (Angul). Defenders: Hrushikesh Behera, Surajit Behera, Ashis Nandi (all Cuttack); Blacky Lakra, Kedar Soni (both Sambalpur); Shashi Toppo, Govind Senapati (both Sundargarh). Mid-fielders: Prakash Dilla, Seikh Moin, Hemanta Das, Mahesh Sahoo (all Cuttack); Gokum Oram, Sidhartha Pruseth (both Sundargarh); Sanjit Panna (Bhubaneswar), Antu Murmu (Balasore). Forwards: Sanatan Nayak, Sylvester (both Sambalpur), Lala Sudhansu Sekhar Ray (Cuttack). Officials: Santanu Basu (chief coach), Saroj Das (assistant coach), Gopabandhu Sahu (goalkeeping coach) and Ramesh Chandra Mallick (manager).
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PHOTO: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with State football team in Bhubaneswar on May 4, 2011.
