66th Santosh Trophy - Day 12: Services & Tamil Nadu qualify for semifinals

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its twelweth day today played matches in Group C and D of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Hosts Orissa are out of the tournament as Services and Tamil Nadu progress to the semifinals.

Services came back from behind to hold hosts Orissa 1-1 and in the process top Group C to qualify for the semifinal. Services play Kerala in the first semifinal on May 25. At Cuttack's Barabati Stadium, Orissa surged into the lead when Gokul Oram converted from the spot in the 33rd minute. But Services came back strongly in the second half to level proceedings when Gordon Zoramchhana equalised in the 55th minute. Services finished with seven points while Orissa ended on five points.

In an inconsequential match Haryana rode on Abhisek's hattrick to breeze past Chattisgarh 6-1. Besides Abhisek, Devendra, Ajay and Habib scored one goal each, while K. Paveen reduced the margin for Chattisgarh. Haryana finished in third spot in Group C with four points while Chattisgarh couldn't open their account.

Tamil Nadu played out a goalless draw against Railways in their last Quarterfinal Group D League match to advance to the semifinals in the 66th Santosh Trophy. Tamil Nadu topped Group D and ended with seven points while Railways came second with five points. Tamil Nadu now play Manipur in the second semifinal on May 26.

In the other Group D match, Delhi blanked decimated Mizoram 3-0 to finish on three points while Mizoram ended on point. For Delhi, Mahendra Singh scored in the 53rd minute while Dhiraj Singh and Kamson Kabui scored one apiece in the 78th and the 87th minute respectively.


Day Twelve Results

Group-C - Cuttack
23-May-2012: Haryana 6-1 Chhattisgarh
[H: 5,67,83 Abhisek, 37 Habib Khan, 45 Ajay, 53 Devender; C: 54 K. Praveen]
23-May-2012: Orissa 1-1 Services
[O: 33 Gokul Oram (pen); S: 55 Gordon Zoramchhana]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
23-May-2012: Mizoram 0-3 Delhi
[53 Mahendra Singh, 78 Dhiraj Singh, 87 Kamson Kabui]
23-May-2012: Railways 0-0 Tamil Nadu

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 10: Tamil Nadu beat Mizoram in thriller

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its tenth day today played matches in Group C and D of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The hosts Orissa were held to a one-all draw by Haryana. Abhisek gave Haryana an early 8th minute lead but Antu Murmu equalised for the hosts in the 44th minute with the remaining at 1-1 until the end. Orissa move to four points from two matches while Haryana are on one point from two matches.

Services were on a goal-scoring spree when they thumped Chhattisgarh 6-0 in their second match of the Quarterfinal Group C match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. For Services, Farhad V.V. scored a hattrick (4th,33rd,75th minute) while Thyagarajan scored a brace (62nd and 90th). Z. Horin completed the rout in the 44th minute. With this victory, Services move to the top of Group C with six points from two matches, while Chhattisgarh remain pointless.

In a thrilling Group D quarterfinal clash at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Tamil Nadu rallied to beat Mizoram 4-3. Mizoram were up 2-0 by the 22nd minute through two F. Lalrinpuia (2nd and 22nd) goals, but Tamil Nadu turned things around first with Charles Anandraj scoring in the 38th minute and then a double strike from U. Jayakumar in the 49th and 78th minute. Mizoram came back to equalise two minutes from time through Lalbiakhlua, but M. Ramesh scored the winner in the second minute of injury time for Tamil Nadu. But the match was marred by controversy as in the second session as handball decision led to on-field violence with three Mizoram players and two from Tamil Nadu send-off. Courtesy the victory, Tamil Nadu move to six points from two matches while Mizoram stay on one point.

In another Group D match, Railways scraped past Delhi 2-1. After a barren first half, Lalmohan Hansda put Railways in the lead in the 82nd minute only for Vikash Rawat to restore parity in the 84th minute. Railway's Gurpreet Singh sealed the fate of the match in the 86th minute. Railways move to four points from two matches while Delhi are yet to open their account.


Day Ten Results

Group-C - Cuttack
21-May-2012: Haryana 1-1 Orissa
[H: 8 Abhisek; O: 44 Antu Murmu]
21-May-2012: Chhattisgarh 0-6 Services
[4,33,75 Farhad V.V., 44 Z. Horin, 62,90 Thyagarajan]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
21-May-2012: Delhi 1-2 Railways
[D: 84 Vikash Rawat; R: 82 Lalmohan Hansda, 86 Gurpreet Singh]
21-May-2012: Mizoram 3-4 Tamil Nadu
[M: 2,22 F. Lalrinpuia, 88 Lalbiakhlua; T: 38 Charles Anandraj, 49,78 U. Jayakumar, 90+2 M. Ramesh]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 8: Hosts Orissa open with win

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its eighth day today played matches in Group C and D in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar of the Quarterfinal League in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Hosts Orissa made a successful start into the 66th Santosh Trophy with a 4-0 win against Chhattisgarh riding on a hattrick by Gokul Oram and another goal from Antu Murmu. Gokul gave Orissa the perfect lead, in injury-time of the first half with Antu Murmu doubling the lead in the 66th minute. Gokul would add two more late in the game in the 82nd and first minute of injury time.

In another Group C match Services also won 4-0, they won against Haryana Z. Horin put Services in the lead as early as the 8th minute only for Subrata Sarkar to double the score in the 67th minute. Services scored their third goal in the 74th minute when Farhad V.V. bulged the net and he would add another one in the 85th minute.

Mizoram held Railways to a two-all draw. For Railways, Gurpreet Singh and Rizu scored in the 15th and the 45th minute respectively while Mizoram scored through V. Lalanpuia (45th) and F. Lalrinpuia in the 50th minute.

Tamil Nadu made a perfect start into the tournament with a 1-0 win against Delhi. The golden goal was scored by S. Karthik in the 76th minute.


Day Eight Results

Group-C - Cuttack
19-May-2012: Services 4-0 Haryana
[8 Z. Horin, 67 Subrata Sarkar, 74,85 Farhad V.V.]
19-May-2012: Orissa 4-0 Chhattisgarh
[45+1,82, 90+1 Gokul Oram, 66 Antu Murmu]

Group-D - Bhubaneswar
19-May-2012: Railways 2-2 Mizoram
[R: 15 Gurpreet Singh, 45+2 Rizu; M: 40 V. Lalanpuia, 50 F. Lalrinpuia]
19-May-2012: Tamil Nadu 1-0 Delhi
[76 S. Karthik]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 6: Mizoram & Haryana qualify

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its six day today played matches only in Cluster VI and VII in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar with Mizoram and Haryana making it to the next round.

Mizoram after their 12-0 demolition of Rajasthan the other day, also trashed Uttarakhand this time only 6-0 to ensure their easy passage into the quarterfinal league from Cluster VI.

In Cluster VII Haryana took on Assam in a match-up of two sides who both came into this game with six points each and the aim of topping each other to reach to the quarterfinal league stage. In the end Haryana prevailed with a 2-0 victory.


Day Six Results

Cluster-VI - Cuttack
16-May-2012: Mizoram 6-0 Uttarakhand
[24 Lalchhawnkima, 53,84 F. Lalrinpuia, 71,74 Malsawmdawngliana, 80 Lalrinfela]

Cluster-VII - Bhubaneswar
16-May-2012: Daman&Diu 1-4 Sikkim
[D: 21 Rahul Barath; S: 12,29 Bir Bahadur Pradhan, 81 Sanjay Chettri, 88 Bijay Subba]
16-May-2012: Haryana 2-0 Assam
[31 Abhisek, 81 Ajay]

66th Santosh Trophy - Day 4: Another high scoring day

The 66th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy on its fourth day today with matches only in Cluster VI and VII in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

Interesting is the fact that all matches today saw a high number of goals with 23 scored in only three games.

All were one-sided encounters. The biggest win of the day was scored by a talented Mizoram, 12-0 against a hapless Rajasthan, while fellow Northeastern side Assam won 6-0 against minnows Daman & Diu. The closest of the encounters was between Delhi and Sikkim, which Delhi won 4-1.


Day Four Results

Cluster-VI - Cuttack
14-May-2012: Rajasthan 0-12 Mizoram
[11,17,41 F.Lalrinpuia, 12,77,79 Zico Zoremsanga, 42 David Lalthansanga, 55, 84 Malsawmdawngliana, 63 Lallawmzuala, 74 H. Malsawmtluanga, 87 David Lalrinmuana]

Cluster-VII - Bhubaneswar
14-May-2012: Daman&Diu 0-6 Assam
[7,17 Sayaram Basumatary, 12 Jayanta Basumatary, 19,41 Khirod Das, 59 Manas Manjit Chetia]
14-May-2012: Sikkim 1-4 Haryana
[S: ?; H: 14,74,77 Abhisek, 26 Pankaj Sura]

Dutch club Den Haag signs MoU with Haryana

Dutch Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Haryana Football Association and FICCI to improve and popularize the game of football in the state of Haryana.

The clubs coach, Technical Advisor and administrator along with their Under-16 team will be arriving on February 27 for the singular purpose of:

1) To open/start football academies at grass-root level in Haryana.

2) To hold workshops/clinics for coaches, referees, administrators in Haryana in order to update them on the most modern methods of football coaching, etc.

3) To play Under-16 football matches for Boys in different parts of both Rural and Urban Haryana.

ADO Den Haag Under-16 team are scheduled to play four matches in Haryana. They will play matches in Faridabad on March 1; Badli, a village in Jhajjar District on March 3; Rohtak on March 5 and Gurgaon on March 8. Along with the matches, there is a provision of holding workshops and clinics for local referees, coaches and administrators to update them on most recent methods in the game of the football.

Football has a taken a giant step in Haryana under the able guidance of the Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana FA Deepender Singh Hooda with contributions also from Haryana Olympic Association president P.V. Rathee.

Haryana has emerged as a new hub of Indian football and has been the centre of conducting football tournaments both internationally and nationally. Haryana has the privilege to host more the 23 National Championships as well as International events at Gurgaon's Tau Devi Lal Stadium. The women's national football teams also use this facility every now and then.

The recent development in Haryana and especially in Gurgaon has given them the opportunity to soon conduct the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifying matches between Afghanistan and Bhutan in the month of March.

Other centres in football excellence in Haryana are: Rohtak, Jhajjar, Rewari, Mahindergarh, Faridabad, Hissar.

HOA president P.V. Rathee said, "It's very important to develop a culture of sports in Haryana. We have good Boxers and Weightlifters but we are lacking in football. Through SPAT (Sports and Physical Aptitude Test) we will be able to determine a player and his potential in a particular sport. Further we will give them the necessary infrastructure and facilities as well as exposure."

"We also want to secure the future of players and for that, we will be providing them Scholarship and encourage a system of education that could produce both educationist and sportsmen," added P.V. Rathee.

Haryana FA secretary Sunil Bhardwaj said, "For past five years, we have had excellence at the Senior National Levels in both Men and Women disciplines. It was the right time for us to do something fruitful at the youth level. This was one of the visions of our President, Mr. Deepender Singh Hooda."

"With this MoU signed between HFA, FICCI and ADO Den Haag football club, we are expecting our youth structure to get more developed as well structured. ADO Den Haag is one of the leading football clubs in Netherlands and their merger with us will definitely improve the game at the grass-root level. FICCI will play a significant role in providing financial assistance," added Sunil Bhardwaj.

Haryana to get Centre of Excellence for Soccer

Football in Haryana will get a major boost with a Centre of Excellence for Soccer (CoES) set to be build in the state. Partners in the project will be the Haryana Football Association (HFA), the Dutch Haryana Foundation (DHF) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI); who signed a Memorandum of Understanding for strategic cooperation at FICCI House in New Delhi on Friday. Besides the development of the CoES the partners will also try to develop, operate and manage football centres and infrastructures throughout the state.

In terms of the MoU, for the proposed Centre of Excellence, DHF will establish a consortium of Dutch sports organizations which have sports offering focused on a long term football development program, such as the Royal Dutch Football Association, the club ADO Den Haag, the Johan Cryuff Institute and others.

The MoU was signed by DHF president Oedith N. Jaharia; FICCI Secretary General Dr. Amit Mitra and Haryana FA president Deepender S. Hooda. The three parties to the MoU have agreed that the selection of probables will be done from various sources including the State Sports and Physical Aptitude Test (SPAT) program which consists a ready database of 46,000 athletes in various age groups across Haryana.

It is agreed between parties that a two weeks pilot program will be conducted to decide the further technical and infrastructural requirements of Haryana State to develop the said CoES plans. Thereafter, HFA and FICCI will invite the technical staff and youth players of ADO Den Hague to Haryana. During the two weeks the technical staff of ADO will make further analysis and give advice to the alliance.

FICCI will create awareness about the need of for increasing corporate participation in sports as sponsors at a more fundamental level that can bring about a critical difference in India's medal winning prospects. It will promote and market the concept of SPAT and PPP in sports development during its conferences/ events; coordinate with DHF and HFA to implement this concept; and facilitate greater interaction between industry and Government of Haryana to increase industrial participation in sports.

HFA will coordinate with the Haryana Government and on long term release provide stadium infrastructure required to operate the CoES, conduct all related surveys and collect all market information required for the project. It will also seek all necessary support from the State Government and make the project successful and will endeavor make CoES a Private Public Partnership model.

DHF will bring in all necessary knowledge required to impart world class training and coaching towards the operations of the project. The participants in the Dutch Sports Consortium as coordinated by DHF will under commercial conditions provide the project with expertise and technical know-how to create, plan, manage and operate the project. It will exclusively work with HFA and vice-versa in the field of football training & coaching and infrastructure management and development in the territory during the term of this MoU.

The discussions about such a partnership were started at the first-ever FICCI Sports Summit last year in New Delhi and followed up at this years event. Getting Dutch football expertise for Haryana would be something which should take their football forward.