CHANDIGARH, APRIL 30:St Stephen’s Club blanked Sher-E-Punjab (White) by 3-0 in their Group D fixture of the Chandigarh Senior State Football Championship for Sher-e-Punjab Trophy being conducted by the Chandigarh Football Association at the Sector 17 Football Stadium here today.Johny Chand Singh’s brace paved the way for Stephen’s facile victory. Amanpreet Singh netted the third goal for Stephen’s Club.In another Group D outing Maruti Football Club ‘A’ team recorded a 3-1 verdict over Citi Club. Balihar netted two for the winners while Ashish Arora scored one. Ravi, in a solo effort, reduced the margin for Citi Club in the 50th minute.
Had Sher-e-Punjab (White) scored earlier in the match, it could have been a close affair. Showing proper coordination among their forwards they had a golden chance to forge ahead in the ninth minute. Yadvinder sent a perfect floater to well-positioned Gurjeet whose sharp header was collected by alert St Stephen’s goalkeeper Sudhir Saini.
Immediately, in a counter-attack, Stephen’s striker Bhupinder, with only Sher-e-Punjab goalkeeper to beat, unleashed a wild shot. However, Stephen’s could not be denied a goal in the 19th minute. Bhupinder Singh sent a centre to Johny Chand Singh who beat advancing Sher-e-Punjab custodian Abhishek Arora with a perfect grounder.
Stephen’s maintained their pressure and in the 26th minute, Sher-e-Punjab defender handled the ball inside the proscribed area and umpire Amrik Singh had not hesitation in awarding a penalty which Johny Chand Singh converted it by catching the goalkeeper on the wrong foot. One minute later, Amanpreet Singh rounded of the winners’ tally with a fine goal.
Earlier, Maruti Football Club ‘A’ Team from Manimajra and Citi Club played a goalless draw in the first half. On resumption, four goals were scored within a span of 25 minutes. Fed by Naresh Ashish Arora got the better of Citi Club goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh to put Maruti FC into the lead. Then came the brace by Balihar. In the 40th minute, Balihar dribbled past a couple of defenders before scoring with a solo effort. Five minutes later, Sunil sent a measured pass to Balihar to do the rest for the winners’ third goal. A solo effort in the 50th minute saw Ravi scoring the consolaiton goal for Citi Club.
Youngsters Football Club defeated Crazy Club of Sector 41 by 2-0 after played a goalless draw in the first session in a group A encounter. On crossing over, Youngsters Club attacked their rivals with redoubled vigour. Their efforts bore fruits when Dharmenderjit Singh struck in the 38th minute. Gaurav sealed Crazy Club’s fate with a goal in the 58th minute.
In another Group A outing, Sher-e-Punjab prevailed over Punjab Engineering College Club by 2-1. In the 14th minute, Manpreet dribbled his way into the box side-stepping two defenders before putting Sher-e-Punjab ahead. Manjit Singh doubled the margin in the 40th minute. Manju Parmar scored the lone goal for PEC Club in the 45th minute.