THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This time it was the turn of the state’s police force to catch the FIFA World Cup fever as an IPS Reds team captained by Jail DGP T P Senkumar blanked the IPS Greens led by Vigilance Director Vinson M Paul 2-0 at the Jimmy George Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
IPS Reds and IPS Greens, coached by former Indian internationals K T Chacko and C V Pappachan respectively, produced an entertaining display for the spectators of the match, organised by the IPS Association Kerala Chapter.
IPS Reds’ Thiruvananthapuram Range IG Manoj Abraham produced some pre-match excitement rolling on the floor as part of his warm-up routine, but it was the Greens who started the game on the front foot.
Kollam City Commissioner Debesh Kumar Behera of IPS Greens showed some quick feet to dance past the opposition defenders early on in the game, but Abraham stepped up to change the fortunes for the Reds.
The IG, from the right wing, played a wonderful cross to the head of AIG Shefeen Ahamed K, who miscued his header a little wide of the goal, keeping the scores goalless at half time.
Several officers were already feeling fatigue at the lime break and Reds captain Senkumar had to quit after having a cramp on his leg. However, Reds were in the lead early on in the second half as Abraham send in a low ball this time for Shefeen to tap in at the far post.
Greens threatened to equalise soon after but Intelligence DIG P Vijayan’s shot following a quick counter attack only went out after hitting the crossbar. SBCID SP Thomas Jolly Cherian came to life in the final minutes of the game as he combined with Ernakulam Rural SP Satheesh Bino, but the latter’s effort hit the side netting.
Cherian did not need any support the next time around as he played a clever shimmy in front of the defender, transferring the ball to his right foot, and planting the ball into the back of the net doubling the lead; a finish worthy of shaming even international footballers!
Things could have turned from bad to worse for the Greens had it not been for their goalkeeper Thrissur Rural SP N Vijayakumar, who parried away three clear goal-scoring opportunities of the Reds, limiting the damage.
State Police Chief K S Balasubramanian handed the winner’s trophy to IPS Reds as ADGPs B Sandhya, Loknath Behera and Mohammed Yasin watched on.