Although the blue jerseys were more dominant, they couldn't find a way to score

A messy BEML side fell to a freak goal against CIL in the BDFA Super Division league at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday. The lucky goalscorer was Enian, who sent in a hopeful shot from the edge of the box in the 48th minute; goalkeeper Rajan was well positioned behind the ball, but let it slip.

BEML were much the better side, both on paper and on the field of play, but they just couldn't string things together. They began promisingly enough, with strikers Samuel Jackson and Jotin Singh combining well with the midfield. They used the flanks well, spread out the game, and their midfielders constantly sent in probing balls from the deep.

CIL, however disparate a unit they looked, managed to prevent the BEML attackers from getting a decent shot at goal. The strikers went close a couple of times. Ricky Joy sent in a floater from midfield and Samuel Jackson set Jotin up with a header, but Jotin couldn't beat goalkeeper Venkatesh. Minutes later, Tiken Singh stole in from the left and squared to Jotin at the edge of the box, but Jotin's drive went marginally over the bar.

As the game progressed, BEML seemed to lose their rhythm. Even the one-goal deficit failed to get them going as a unit. Defensive midfielder Prakash played his heart out, running like a hare across the field and trying to force the equaliser, but the rest of the team failed to present a threat. Strikers Samuel Jackson and Jotin Singh looked forlorn up front, well marked by the four-man defence of Krishna Kumar, Vasigaran, Vinodh and Gopalakrishna. BEML ran out of ideas as soon as they entered CIL's half.

BEML had nobody but themselves to blame at the end of the match, and coach Chandrashekar admitted that this was their worst-ever performance. The only player who could come away with his head high was Prakash, who demonstrated great heart even late in the match by scurrying from deep inside his own half to his opponents' territory. He did get an opportunity in the dying minutes, but struck straight at the goalkeeper. That just about summed up BEML's day.

DNA Correspondent/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication