CHENNAI: The levelness and intensity of the contest fizzled out inside the first 20 minutes, precisely at the 18th minute when Tamil Nadu skipper Kalia Kulothungan drilled home a header past the flummoxed Haryana goalkeeper Chinmoy Banerjee. The next seventy-odd minutes was one-way traffic, as Tamil Nadu thumped Haryana 5-0 to enter the quarterfinals in the 63rd Santosh Trophy at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
Speedy and steady as Kulothungan is, he is a looming menace in and off the box. He is a creator, distributor and a goal-scorer of immense opportunism.
The header he netted was a tribute to his anticipation and positioning.
He timed his jump precisely and the finish had finesse written all over it, something that Haryana lacked in every department.
Even Haryana coach Hans Raj couldn’t hide his admiration. “We knew he was the key and always had two-three men covering him. But he was too good that he completely outplayed them. If they play in same way as today, the team is destined for semifinals,” he said.
With an ordinary centre-line, bereft of imagination, Haryana’s misery was imminent.
Skipper Pawar Kumar’s lacklustre form only compounded their woes, and P Muthu’s goal in the 43rd minute sealed their fate. Any optimism of an unlikely comeback faded out soon after halftime when PC Riju, who had fumbled three straightforward chances in the first half, kept his cool and opened his account.
As if discontented, Tamil Nadu pressed hard and found more openings.
Riju and Muthu added one apiece to their tally, but they could have rounded off the proceedings with a better goal-margin but for wayward finishing. Such was the hosts’ assuredness that even defenders such as Prem Kumar ventured forth to the opposition half.
If coach P Thulasi’s concern was about Riju’s striking ally, Muthu’s performance in the previous couple of matches should dispel such thoughts. His speed is as appreciable as his commitment. He is not the aloof striker perennially hovering over the opponent’s box. He backs up pretty fast and is quite handy at dispossessing his opponents. Having blasted 30 goals in only fours matches and maintained clean sheets throughout, the mood in the TN camp is upbeat. But Thulasi, a tranquil customer, stresses the importance of improving their performance.
“We have done all the good work and reached the quarterfinals. We have been improving with every match. But we shouldn’t get carried away and ought to raise the standard further if we are to qualify for the semifinals. We have chalked plans for the big matches,” he emphasised.
Pitted alongside defending champions Punjab, 29-time winners Bengal, and 2003 champions Manipur, Tamil Nadu have an onerous task though.