Government Press defeated Reserve Bank of India 3-2 in the opening encounter of the C Prasanna Kumar Memorial football tournament for ‘A’ Division teams that got underway here at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday.

The Pressmen took the lead in the 38th minute through Arun Kumar who scored off a rebound after RBI custodian saved a longranger from Prem Kumar.

Four minutes into the second half, Prem Kumar swelled his team’s tally after connecting a measured pass from Sudhakaran from the left flank. The bank forward-line -- if at all there was one -- failed to make any attacking moves. The plight of the bankmen was highlighted when Babu took the ball past the half-way line and found no one to relay the ball to.

Bankmen finally succeeded in pulling one back in the 54th minute through Jayaseelan, who made amends for his earlier lapse when he shot wide in front of an empty goal. With ten minutes to go for the final whistle, Govt Press brought in Anthony for a tired Prem Kumar and the move paid off immediately as in a swift counter-attack, Anthony dodged past a couple of defenders and passed the ball to Vijay Babu who tapped it in to give the Pressmen a 3-1 lead.

Chinappa -- one of the few youngsters in a veteran RBI squad, reduced the deficit for the Bankmen in the 89th minute against the run of the play, but the effort came too late in the day.