—
CHIRAG UNITED
v
PUNE FC
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
8th March, 2010 – 1:45 PM IST
Teams:
CU: Somnath, Justin, Sukhen, Chika, Narugopal, Denson, Tulunga, Lalkamal, Sankar, Junior, Joshimar.PFC: Subrata, Tabia, Selwin, Gurjinder, Ajayan, Tamba, Lester, J.Prasad, Asheem, Arata, Keita.
4′ : No goals yet. Teams trying to adjust to blistering heat of a mid-day sun.
9′ : Arata injured. Big blow for PFC as Arata leaves the field after an injury. Subhash Singh replaces him.
12′ : Still no goals. Keen contest between Ajayan and Denson in midfield.
17′ : Teams have cancelled each other out till now. PFC might struggle to replace Arata, who has been one of the top performers for the team.
19′ : Ajayan’s long ranger misses the goal by a whisker.
22′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! Chirag take the lead through Shankar Orao. Good assist from Joshimar.
25′ : Conceding goals in first half has been PFC’s USP in this year’s I-League, along with clawing their way back. Will they be able to stage one more comeback ?
28′ : Free-kick for Keita on edge of the Chirag penalty box. Poor execution from the PFC player.
32′ : Poor set-piece delivery from PFC players, a corner wasted.
36′ : Lester made inroads into Chirag defence, his final cross was misdirected.
42′ : Somnath !!! Super save from the Chirag ‘keeper to deny Gurjinder.
44′ : Good interplay between Joshimar and Lalkamal. The latter took too long to shoot, giving chance to Lester who made a clearance.
HT : Chirag United 1-0 Pune FC :: It has been a closely fought encounter so far. Scoring chances have been few and far between. Chirag made good use of their chances as a result of which they lead 1-0.
46′ : Second half kicks off.
48′: Good attack by PFC. Aseem Hasan laid in a lovely ball from the wing towards Subhash. Cleared by Chika inside Chirag United box.
50′: PFC players are struggling a bit in this hot and humid Kolkata weather. AIFF should have a re-look in to these lunch time kick-offs at 1:45 PM; a 3:00 PM start would be ideal.
52′: Lovely pass by Lalkamal for Joshimar, but the Brazilian failed to get to the ball. Cleared by PFC defense for a corner. No damage done from the resulting flag kick of Lalkamal Bhowmick.
54′: Close shave for Chirag. Subhash banged his right footer against the woodwork. Unfortunate!
56′: Change for PFC. Lester OUT; Venkatesh IN.
59′: Chirag makes another forward surge led by Shankar Oraon. Cleared away by Selwyn.
62′: Nice buildup between two PFC veterans – Venkatesh and Ajayan – but the former’s cross is a tad too long.
66′: PFC gets a corner. Aseem Hasan floats the ball in; Keita heads. Goes just over the cross-piece.
69′: Saved by Somnath! Venkatesh’s inch perfect cross found Keita unmarked inside the D. Keita heads, but goalie Somnath makes a diving stop.
71′: Pune FC is attacking in waves now. Chirag on the back-foot. Can the Red Lizards stay true to their tag “Come-back Kings” and score the equalizer in next 20 minutes?
74′: Both the coaches make one change each. For PFC – Paresh IN; Subhash OUT. For Chirag – Choi IN; Junior OUT.
78′: Chirag showing great defending skills to hold off the Pune FC strike force. The scoreline remains 1-0 in favor of the home team.
81′: Time is running out for Pune FC. They have been the better team in second half, but the strikers failed to finish off the attacking moves. Aseem Hasan tried a long ranger from 25 yards out. Wide!
83′: Time wasting tactic by Somnath. Poor fella! Gets in to the referee’s book.
87′: Thumping drive by Venkatesh. Missed the target by not more than a couple of inches.
90′: Here we got our entry for “TheHardTackle’s Miss of the Week” segment. Joshimar missed an open net. One-on-one with Subrata, the goalie came out to make the angle tough for Joshimar. The striker is able to get past him exhibiting nice footwork, but incredibly fired wide from just 10 yards out with an open net to aim for! U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E!
FT: Chirag United 1-0 Pune FC :: Chirag clinches all three points from this close encounter. Pune FC would feel hard done as they dominated the second half but could not convert any of the goal scoring opportunities. Derrick Pereira would not be a happy man sitting in the dug-out! Shankar Oraon has been declared as the man of the match.
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Sree Kantheerava Stadium, Bangalore
8th March, 2011 – 3:30 PM IST
Team News:
HAL SC: Pramod, Kenneth, Abeola, Goutam, Kartikh, Rohit, Meetei, Murli, Vijaykumar, Hamza, R.C.Prakash.
Viva Kerala: Sarath, Sajesh, Charls, Bello, Chinta, Pradeep, Sherin, Karma, Shafi, Anil, Felix.
1′: Here we go at SreeKanteerva Stadium, Bangalore. The home team HAL SC sets the ball rolling against Viva Kerala, who are desperate to stay clear of the drop zone and would look forward to get some points from this tie.
10′: No goals in the first 10 minutes. HAL is slightly dominating the possession. One decent opportunity for Viva. Felix and Anil combined well to build up a good attack, but HAL goalie, Pramod was alert and makes a good stop to deny Felix.
15′: Great forward ball by Xavier Vijaykumar towards HAL SC’s foreign recruit Abdulla Hamza. But the striker made a mess of the chance and ballooned it over and wide. Poor effort!
20′: GOOOAAALLLL! It’s the away team, Neelapada from Kerala, takes the lead to set the drum beats rolling on the gallery. The home team is trailing by 0-1 and we are in to the 20th minute of the match. N.P. Pradeep is the scorer; assisted by Shafi.
25′: Shocked by the turn of events after a dominating start, HAL SC is attacking Viva Kerala defense with renewed vigor. R.C. Prakash and Murali J., two veterans are leading the HAL SC fight back.
35′: We are well past the half-an-hour mark. HAL SC continue to press for the equalizer, no success yet. Viva Kerala are seating deep in their defense and looking for attacking on the break. T. Karma almost doubled their lead from one such counter attacks, however Pramod was alert to ward off the danger.
40′: Close to five minutes remaining for the half time break. Can HAL get the equalizer before the breather? Abdulla Hamza has been guilty of squandering another decent chance in the 38th minute.
HT’: The referee blows the half time whistle. Viva Kerala is deservingly leading by a solitary goal scored by the Kerala golden boy N.P. Pradeep. Join us back for the second half updates in about 15 minutes time.
50′: Second half gets underway at Bangalore. Score-line remains 0-1.
55′: Golden opportunity missed by Felix to put his team up by 2-0. Lovely feed by Anil Kumar from the right, Felix shoots from the edge of the box, brushes the far post and goes out.
60′: In to the hour mark now. Viva Kerala is defending resolutely. Vijaykumar’s curling free kick from 20 yards out was wonderfully saved by Sharath – the Viva Kerala goalie.
70′: Only 20 minutes remaining for HAL to get the eqalizer. The uneven turf at Sree Kanteerva turf is not helping their cause either. So many times because of bad bounce the had to lose the possession while attacking from the flanks.
75′: HAL is finding it very difficult to break through the deep defense line deployed by Kunhikrishnan’s team. Viva are firmly in control and it won’t be surprising to see them scoring another in the dying moments as HAL is now up in to an all-out attacking mood.
80′: The scoreline remains 0-1 with the home team trailing by a solitary goal.
FT: HAL SC 0-1 Viva Kerala :: And here goes the final whistle. Morale boosting victory for the visiting team. With this win, their 3rd of the season, Viva Kerala leap-frogged JCT FC to move up to the 11th spot in the points table with 15 points to their name. HAL SC remains in the 9th spot collecting 19 points.
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EAST BENGAL
v
JCT FC
Yuvabharati Krirangan, Kolkata
9th March, 2010 – 1:45 PM IST
Team News
East Bengal: Sandip, Naoba, Okpara, Gurwinder, Soumik, Sanju, Ravinder, Mehtab, Penn, Biswarup, Baljeet
JCT FC: Naveen, Omoloza, Amandeep, Daljit, Harish, Daniel, Balraj, Ajay, Gurtez, Ibrahim, Lalchuanma.
Pre-match: A very important match for both the teams. East Bengal can’t afford any more slip ups if they are to fight for the coveted crown; while JCT have already put a foot on the drop zone, they will be keen to get their campaign back on track and notch up atleast a point from this encounter.
1′: Here we go. The ball gets rolling here at Yuvabharati Krirangan Kolkata. East Bengal is playing with only 2 foreigner – Uga Okpara and Penn Orji. Tolgay is injured; Alexandro dropped. No Robin Singh either, he is with Indian team which will face-off against Myanmar in the pre-Olympic Qualifying match.
2′: Immediately after the kick off, the Red-&-Golds make their first attacking surge through the right wing. Cleared by Daljit.
3′: Mehtab tried to snatch the ball from Amandeep in the midfield area, the ball gets deflected and goes out for a throw in for JCT.
4′: Amandeep leads the first JCT attack. Okpara is there to deal with it. Amandeep pushes the defender and the referee gave a foul against Amandeep. Free kick for East Bengal in their own half.
5′: Foul on Sanju. East Bengal gets another free kick in the midfield. Mehtab delivery towards Biswarup is intercepted by Omoloja and JCT clears the danger.
6′: Amoloja tries to test Sandip with a long ranger. Safely gathered by the experienced goalie. Minutes later, JCT gets another chance, Daljit shoots. Deflected of Naoba for a corner.
7′: Nothing comes out of the flag kick. Foul against Balraj Singh for a studs up challenge.
9′: Great delivery by Mehtab to find Penn inside the D. However Omoloja clears the ball. Ball goes to Naoba, he sends in a good cross. Ravinder’s left footer goes straight to JCT goalie.
11′: Good going for East Bengal so far. They are dominating the ball possession. However finishing has been a big headache for Morgan’s men in recent fixtures and they will not be content till they gets atleast one goal here.
14′: Another decent attack by East Bengal from the left wing. But Omoloja is standing like a rock at the JCT defense. Ball cleared.
15′: Penn brought down at the edge of the box. Naoba takes the free kick, Okpara heads – ball flies over and wide.
18′: The scoreline remains 0-0. East Bengal looking more likely to take the lead. Mehtab is in sublime touch after serving his suspension in round-17.
20′: Another great attack by East Bengal from the left side. Somehow Daniel manages to clear. The ball is refusing to go out from the JCT half at the moment.
21′: Lovely forward ball by Mehtab towards Baljeet, Baljeet finds Biswarup. Handball by the East Bengal striker. Looks intentional. Booked by the referee.
22′: Free kick for JCT. Ibrahim delivers a curling ball, cleared by Okpara.
25′: Lack of understanding between Biswarup and Baljeet causing problems for East Bengal upfront. Another great chance went begging. It’s a crime not to utilize the brilliant defense splitting through balls which Mehtab is providing.
27′: From Sanju’s cross, Ravinder shoots. Ball straight to the goalie. Weak effort.
28′: Another attack by East Bengal, this time from the right. Penn takes a shot, Naveen collects easily.
30′: Good understanding between Amandeep and Ajay, but the latter’s shot lacks direction. Goes out for a goal kick. Half-an-hour passed by and none of the teams could open the scoring account.
30′: GOOOAAALLLLL! East Bengal gets the break through! Mehtab Hussain, you beauty! The creative force behind this goal. He snatched the ball from Daljit Singh and provided another defense splitting ball towards Baljit Sahni. The striker controls the ball beautifully before unleashing a left footer which beat JCT goalie Naveen all ends up. East Bengal up by a goal here at YBK and the crowd went berserk.
32′: Mehtab is playing a gem of a role as the play-maker. Provides another delicious ball to an unmarked Penn Orji. The Nigerian should have scored from that position, but his left footer goes straight to Naveen.
34′: JCT attacks from the left. Ibrahim takes a scorching right footer. Ball goes out.
35′: Onceagain, lovely delivery by Mehtab towards Baljit, but the striker is late to react and Omoloja clears.
36′: Another forward surge by East Bengal through the left wing. Vasum sends a good cross, but Naveen comes out and brabs the ball.
38′: Mehtab square passes the ball to Penn. Penn finds Biswarup, a little one-two, Penn sends the ball to Baljit. Baljit is ruled offside. Beautiful one touch football by the Red-&-Golds.
40′: Thunderous left footer by Ravinder, Naveen makes a diving stop.
42′: Aimless shot by Ajay Singh. Sandip is not even bothered to move an inch. Goes out wide.
44′: Mature and composed defending by Gurwinder and Okpara to clear two dangerous balls by JCT forward line. Okpara’s calming assurance was missed in the match against MFC in round-17.
45′: Almost at the end of first half. Referee adds one minute of injury time.
HT’: Here goes the half time whistle. East Bengal is deservingly leading by 1-0. Mehtab Hussain has been the best player on the field by far. Impressive display by the inspirational midfielder.
46′: Second half gets underway here at YBK.
50′: It’s the same old story in second half also. East Bengal dominating possession and JCT looking to go up on the counter.
51′: Play acting by Ajay Singh to get a penalty. He should try for Bollywood, might get nominated for an Oscar. The referee should have booked him but lets him go with a mild warning.
53′: JCT makes their first change. Gurtej Singh IN; Harish Sharma OUT! Good cross by Ravinder towards Biswarup. Naveen comes off his line and holds on to the highclaim.
56′: The scoreline remains 1-0 in favor of East Bengal and they are dominating the match now. Gurwinder to Sanju; Sanju crosses towards Baljeet. Baljeet shoots, but Naveen makes another good save.
60′: Lovely one-two between Mehtab and Penn. Penn shoots, deflected off a JCT defender. From the rebound, Biswarup takes a shy at the goal, goes out wide. East Bengal is still leading by a goal at the hour mark.
61′: Morgan makes double change. Tolgay IN; Biswarup OUT and Vasum IN; Sanju OUT.
63′: Sukhwinder responds by substituting Ibrahim and bringing in Randeep Singh.
65′: Gurwinder gets booked for a foul on Balraj at the edge of the box. Free kick for JCT.
66′: Omoloja fires a right footed bullet. Easily saved by Sandip.
70′: Another attack by JCT; no damage done. East Bengal surges forward for a counter, Mehtab with the ball, passes it towards Tolgay, looks promising – but ultimately JCT defense clears the danger for a corner.
72′: Corner cleared by JCT defense. Ball goes to Ravinder, he crosses towards Baljit. Baljit is ruled off-side.
73′: GOOOAAALLLL! East Bengal doubles the lead. Marauding run by Penn through the right wing. The Nigerian goes past 2 JCT defenders before sending a measured cross to Baljeet. The former JCT player makes no mistake to complete a splendid brace against his former employer.
75′: 15 minutes remaining in the match. Can East Bengal hold on to the lead, or JCT will bounce back?
77′: GOOOAAALLLL! It looks all over for JCT. Ravinder Singh gets on the scoring chart. Beautiful individual goal by Ravinder after he got a good ball from Tolgay upfront. he cut inside from left wing and fired a right footer aiming for the top left corner. The ball kisses the woodwork before going in. Lovely finish considering that the goal is scored by his weaker right foot – Ravinder is a natural left footed player.
80′: Baljeet should have scored his hattrick; but a weak right footer easily collected by Naveen. Mehtab Hussain provided the ball.
81′: East Bengal makes their third change. Shaikat IN; Naoba OUT.
84′: East Bengal is leading by 3-0 and still looking for scoring opportunities.
86′: Penn with a long range screamer. Goes just wide.
88′: Balraj with a good run on the left flank. But his cross is poor. Out for a goal kick.
90′: Omoloja to Gutrej, Gutrej fires his left footer. Goes out narrowly. 3 minutes of added time.
FT: East Bengal 3-0 JCT FC :: Finally all three points in bag for the Red-&-Golds. Salgaocar’s lead is cut to 5 points, with East Bengal having a game in hand. JCT are slowly but steadily going towards the drop zone. Baljeet Singh Sahni got the man of the match award, but Mehtab Hussain deserved it more than anyone else. Splendid display by the “Double Cylinder”.
—–
CHURCHILL BROTHERS
v
MUMBAI FC
PJN Stadium, Margaon, Goa
9th March, 2011 – 3:45 PM IST
Teams
Churchill Brothers – Karpeh, Odafa, Denzil, Ravanan, Israil, Zakeer, Gourmangi, Lenny, Raju, Charan, Thapa
Mumbai FC – Nicholas, Abhishek, Sukore, Malasawm Kila, Evans, Keegan, Dane, Peter, Ishan, Kutty Mani
1′ : Match kicks off. MFC has been the surprise package of this years I-League. Will they pull off another coup today ? They were wiped out by a cyclone called Odafa Okalie in first leg.
15′ : The home team has dominated possession. No goals yet.
16′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! Churchill Brothers go ahead.
30′ : After half an hour the scoreline reads Churchill Brothers 1-0 Mumbai FC. Odafa scored a penalty to give Chuchill the lead.
40′ : Churchill have come close to increasing their lead but MFC goalkeeper Ishan has stood strong against Odafa so far.
HT : Churchill Brothers 1-0 Mumbai FC :: The Goan team deservedly go into lemon break with a 1-0 lead. They have created numerous chances after Odafa’s opener but have failed to get past Ishan.
46′ : Second half starts.
52′ : Good chance for Odafa to make it 2-0. He was one on one with Ishan, instead he shoots wide.
60′ : At the hour mark score is Churchill 1-0 MFC.
67′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! 2-0 to Churchill, game almost over for MFC. Super sub Kayne Vincent gets on the score sheet.
78′ : GOOOAALLL !!! Mumbai FC grab a goal. Is there a way back for them in this match ? We are in for a nervy 12 minutes. Henry Ezeh is the scorer.
89′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! 3-1 to Churchill Brothers, surely this is the final nail in MFC’s coffin. Vincent grabs his 2nd goal.
FT : Churchill Brothers 3-1 Mumbai FC :: In the end Churchill proved too strong for MFC defence. The team from Mumbai was undone by Kayne Vincent. Churchill Brothers remain in hunt for the league title with this win.
ONGC FC
v
AIR INDIA
Sahu Maharaj Stadium, Kohlapur
9th March, 2011 – 4:00 PM IST
6′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! An early goal for Air India through Manjit Singh.
25′ : Air India still lead by a goal to nil. ONGC trying hard to score an equaliser.
40′ : Goal scoring chances are few and far between.
HT : ONGC 0-1 Air India :: It has been a pretty drab match so far. Both teams have showed why they are stuck in bottom of the table. Very few goal scoring chances have been created. Handful of spectators that showed up for this match can only hope for things to improve in 2nd half.
46′ : Second half starts.
52′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! ONGC make it 1-1. Babatunde is the scorer.
68′ : GOOOAAALLL !!! Air India back in the lead though Dias.
FT : ONGC 1-2 Air India :: Air India grab win in a virtual 6 pointer game. ONGC’s season shows no sign of improving, surely they are going to get relegated.
—–
DEMPO SC
v
MOHUN BAGAN
PJN Stadium, Margaon, Goa
10th March, 2011 – 4:00 PM IST
Team News:
Dempo SC: Subhashish, Debabrata, Mahesh, Dominic, Joe, Samir, Climax, Ogba, Clifford, Beto, Ranty
Sub: Godwin, Joaquim, Valeriano, Semenia, Covan, Cliffton, KattimaniMohun Bagan: Shilton, Surkumar, Anwar, Deepak, Rakesh, Dhanarajan, Jayanta, Snehashish, Ishfaq, Chidi, Muritala
Sub: Sangram, Biswajit, Kingshuk, Barreto, Satish, DipenduPre-match: A cracker of a match on the cards here at Fatorda, Margao. Two former Champions face off against each other. Great atmosphere. Drum-beats on the stands, crackers in the background. Large crowd in already. All set for a big exciting encounter. TheHardTackle’s Jonathan D’Sousa will be providing LIVE updates of all the actions straight from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao.
1′: Here we go – as the referee blows his whistle, Bagan sets the ball rolling. It promises to be an exciting 90 minutes. Stay tuned to TheHardTackle.
2′: Dempo with the first attacking move. Ranty brought down inside the box, Dempo players appeal for penalty. Not given.
4′: Free kick for Bagan. Snehashish takes it. Surkumar shoots over. No damage done.
5′: Dempo attacking more and more. Ranty looking lively upfront.
7′: Corner for Dempo. Good delivery by Beto found Ranty unmarked. But Anwar comes up with a brilliant late tackle.
10′: Great run by Mahesh through the middle of the park and smacks it goalwards from midfield. Lacks power. Easily collected by Shilton.
11′: Chidi was through on goal. What a brilliant last ditch tackle by Debabrata Roy! Great escape for Dempo.
16′: Beto is pulling the strings from midfield. Agaian, lovely ball by him to Clifford, but Deepak Moldal clears.
20′: Chidi shoots. Straight to Subhashish.
23′: GOOAAALLLL! Dempo gets the lead. Peach of a ball by Beto for an unmarked Climax. Climax makes no mistake to head the ball in to back of the net.
25′: Corner for Dempo. Cleared by Bagan defense.
29′: GOOOAAALLLL! Dempo doubles their lead. This time Clifford gets on the scoring chart. Entire blame should lie upon Bagan defense. No positional sense at all. Shilton comes out to thwart Clifford, but the lanky winger guides the ball home. Dempo up by 2-0.
31′: Bagan gets a corner. Wasted.
33′: Another good attack by Mohun Bagan down the right wing. Surkumar’s pass towards Jayanta is a bit to long, ball out for a goal kick.
35′: Dempo is dominating the game completely. Beto is having a stunner. He is in complete control of the game, pulling the strings of attack at will.
36′: Stunning delivery by Samir Naik to Cliffton. He had only the goalie to beat, but puts it wide. Poor effort.
40′: Great save. Ranty fires a bullet from the edge of the box, tipped over by Shilton. Brilliant reflex shown by the young goalkeeper.
42′: Clifford Miranda takes the flag kick. A goal-mouth scramble there, but ultimately Bagan clears.
45′: 2 minutes of added time.
HT’: It’s half time at PJN Stadium, Margaon. Dempo completely dominated the first half proceedings and are deservingly leading by 2-0.
46′: Second half gets underway.
47′: GOOOAAALLLL! Ranty Martins scores. Dempo 3-0 Mohun Bagan. Bagan defense was complete unaware. Beto provided the assist, Ranty heads in.
49′: First change for Dempo. Samir makes way for Valeriano. Bagan also makes one change; Shilton OFF; Sangram IN. Shilton can hardly be blamed for any of the goals. Bagan central defense seems to have come to Goa for a holiday of sorts.
51′: Good save! Chidi shoots from the D. Subhashish pulls off a diving stop.
55′: Bagan gets a corner. Surkumar’s shot from the flag kick goes wide.
57′: Great ball put in by Valeriano towards Beto, Beto laid it for Climax, but his volley goes over.
59′: Another great ball from Clifford, Joe’s header went over.
60′: Ranty cuts in and shoots, straight to Sangram. Dempo dominating completely. Ruthless stuff from Colaco’s army.
62′: Ranty goes past three defenders and shoots. Wide!
63′: Now Beto gets to fire a bullet, but Sangram makes another good stop.
65′: Nice run by Snehashish on the wing, but Valeriano makes a good tackle to dispossess him. Barreto IN for Bagan, Snehashish goes OFF.
69′: Sub for Dempo. Joaquim IN; Joe goes OFF.
72′: GOOOAAALLLL! Clifford blasts it in. 4-0 for Dempo. This is utter humiliation. Beto is the architect once again. He goes past three defenders and lays a perfect ball for Clifford, who makes no mistake to score the fourth one for the Goan giants.
75′: Sub for Bagan. Ishfaq is limping and replaced by Satish.
80′: Beto is having a stunner of a game, running the show. W-H-A-T-T-A-P-L-A-Y-A-A-A! All that the game needs is a goal from the man himself.
85′: Five minutes to go. Can Bagan get at-least a consolation goal?
87′: Great save by Sangram. Joaquim shoots, but Sangram produces another stunning one handed save.
89′: GOOOAAALLL! At-last Bagan gets a consolation goal. Muritala scores from a goalmouth scramble.
90′: 3 minutes of injury time remaining here.
90+1′: Powerbomb by Barreto. Somehow fisted away by Subhashish. Why the hell Barreto was left warming the bench, Mr. Bhowmick?
FT’: Dempo SC 4-1 Mohun Bagan. A thumping victory for the home team and they are firmly on course for the title race. Clifford Miranda has been declared as the man of the match.
—–
