The game began with spirited and determined attacks by the National forwards. The Railway side put up a gallant defense. A pass from the Railway centre forward gave the right-out the chance he was waiting for. He was no other than Gopi, well-known player.
By deft dribbling, he cleared the National defense and made a dash for the goal. But a National back tackled him in a fine manner. Before that, however, Gopi had passed the ball to the Railway certre-forward who secored an easy goal.
There was a tremendous outburst of cheers from the dense crowd of spectators. The Nationals again began the attack. This time they were determined to score. But the Railway goalie was a clever man. He made some extremely clever saves to the admiration of all the spectators.
The ball was kicked, headed, passed and repassed. Then a penalty was given. A goal was scored by the National centre-half, Mr. Bahri. Soon it was half time.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The second half opened with a brilliant save by the National goalie. But the Railway forwards were now proving more than a match for the National defense. Their quickness, opportunism, dribbling and speed made the Nationals very uncomfortable.
Gopi was particularly dangerous and aggressive. He was guarded carefully, but was breaking out at times. For some time the game proceeded smoothly. Some players of the Nationals were playing a rather rough game. When there were only five minutes more, Gopi, supported by Bali, the centre forward again made a dash for the opponents goal. This time he was successful. The ball hit the bar and frisked into the net. There were prolonged and loud cheers.
The Nationals seemed to be crest-fallen. But the Railway players were quite keen and fresh. They scored another goal in quick succession. Now the referee blew the wistle and the match was over. The Railways won by three goals to one. The winning team was lustily cheered. The players then dispersed in high spirits.