CUTTACK 21-Feb-2012 136
Football Association of Odisha (FAO) added yet another feather to its cap by successfully hosting the Group-II Phase of the Second Division I-League at Barabati Stadium here from February 1 to 21. The competition featured a total of 28 matches among eight professional clubs, including Odisha’s Samaleswari Sporting (Sambalpur). Among these clubs, Royal Wahingdoh FC (Shillong, Meghalaya) and Kalighat MS (Kolkata) qualified for the final phase by virtue of occupying the top two positions in this group.
Royal Wahingdoh topped the table with 17 points, while Kalighat MS finished second with 16 points. SESA Football Academy (Goa) occupied the third position with 14 points. Gauhati Town Club (Assam), Techno Aryan FC (Kolkata), Kenkre FC (Mumbai) and Quartz FC (Kerala) were other four teams in the fray.
Debutant Samaleswari Sporting Club, the first from Odisha to compete in the Second Division I-League, finished a creditable fifth with eight points from seven matches. They won two, drew two and lost the remaining three. Gokul Oram with five goals turned out to be the highest scorer of Samaleswari Sporting.
PERFORMANCE OF SAMALESWARI SPORTING WITH NAMES OF THEIR SCORERS:
Feb 1: Lost to Royal Wahingdoh FC 0-2
Feb 4: Drew with Techno Aryan FC 1-1 (Gokul Oram)
Feb 7: Lost to SESA Football Academy 2-6 (O Abiolo Omotayo, Sankha Marandi)
Feb 10: Beat Gauhati Town Club 3-1 (Gokul Oram 2, O Abiolo Omotayo)
Feb 14: Beat Quartz FC 4-0 (Gokul Oram 2, Sankha Marandi, Sylvester)
Feb 16: Drew with Kenkre FC 1-1 (Sanjit Mali)
Feb 20: Lost to Kalighat MS 2-4 (Suresh Kujjur, Adebayo)
