JOIN USArmy Service Corps (ASC) moved into the semifinals of the Puttaiah Memorial football tournament with a 1-0 win over Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Saturday.
Jotin Singh nodded in the only goal of the match in the 21st minute.
Starting the game with the right intent, the Army men flooded the opposition goal with waves of attack. The first real chance came their way in the 11th minute but Diwakar’s attempt at the goal from the edge of the penalty box was safely parried away by DYES goalkeeper Sunil Kumar.
ASC’s Sudhir, who had set up Diwakar, continued his good work and minutes later, his pass found Rama free but the ASC captain squandered the opportunity firing the ball into the stands.
Earlier, DYES had a penalty appeal turned down by referee Vijay Kumar. A Bala Gangadhar shot seemed to have hit ASC defender Saikh arm but to the dismay of the DYES boys Kumar felt otherwise.
At the other end, Sudhir continued his fine run as he set up Jotin with a juicy pass from the right, but the centre forward missed a glancing header.
Jotin made amends soon after, with Sudhir turning provider once again. His cross from the right found Jotin again and the striker did the rest as his header found the back of the net, giving his team the lead.
ASC played with great composure to see out the remaining part of the match to book a place in the last four.
Earlier in the day, Income Tax backed by goals from Shivakumar (6th minute), Ramesh M (42nd minute) and Premkumar (56th minute) drubbed Sports Authority of India (SAI) to move into the quarterfinals of the Prasanna Kumar Memorial football tournament.
DH News Service