Nagpur :
When Hyderabad Globe Football Club did the three cheers to celebrate, acknowledge and appreciate the presence of a huge turnout at the Military Ground in Kamptee on Friday, they were joined by a couple of hundred of their supporters. It was such a day, when the semi professional outfit from Andhra Pradesh, established in 1962, dominated the proceedings to capture their 9th All-India crown on the trot.
In a high quality final, full of thrill and drama, Hyderabad took Nagpur FC in their strides to snatch a thrilling 1-0 triumph to lift the Haji Majeed Ahmed Majju Seth All-India Gold Cup Football Trophy.
The presence of almost 7,000-strong crowd may have set the competitive juices flowing in both camps as the summit clash between two of the professional outfits witnessed a fast paced and attacking football.
With four Nigerain players in their roster, the Hyderabad FC, appearing in red and black outfit, clearly had the upper hand against NFC men donning orange and whites. However, a rock-solid defense by the rivals and some of their own misfortune kept them away from scoring. They depended far too much on their two Nigerian strikers in Mohammad Yousuf and John Tebo as Hyderabad missed almost seven goal scoring opportunities which kept the first half goalless.
Replacing their fourth Nigerian, Mike, with Mohammad Mustafa in the 58th minute, however, did the trick for Wahab Ansari’s boys. No sooner than the 24-year-old Mustafa entered the field, he seized Hyderabad’s first big opportunity. Displaying his athletic skills, Mustafa dribbled the ball past a couple of NFC defenders to feed a lovely through pass to Sayed Nasar. The timing of the pass was so perfect that Nasar was required to just tap the ball past the NFC custodian which he did without fuss. Nasar placed the ball to the right corner of the net from the centre. The match winning goal came in the 63rd minute.
Hyderabad received prize money of Rs 51,000 lakhs along with a trophy from the chief guest Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLA, while the runners-up, NFC, picked up Rs 31,000 cash and a trophy. Former minister Anees Ahmed presided over the concluding function.
Delighted with the triumph, Hyderabad skipper Alamdar Raza in a chat with TOI said, “Total team effort helped us win our 9th All-India crown in succession. Expectations were high for so naturally we were under pressure. But the way all our players held their positions enabled us to lift the cup. I would also like to appreciate the huge turnout in Kamptee. Having played many championships, this is for the first time in my life that I have seen such a disciplined public.”
Individual prizes
Player of the tournament: B Shashank (Hyderabad)
Player of the final: Sayed Nasar (Hyderabad)
Best goalkeeper: Mohammad Asif (Hyderabad)
Best midfielder: Tabrez Junaidi (NFC)
Best defender: Ibrahim Khan (NFC)
Best Forward: Aafaque Amir (Range Police)
Upcoming players in the tournament: Arbaz Raza (Eleven Star); Sharique Nadeem, Saquib Anwar (both Young Iqbal); Asheer Akthar (Rabbani Club)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Sports> Football /by Amit Sampat, TNN / February 16th, 2013