Ravi MenonBangalore, June 11: Star-studded Kerala sunk the hopes of a young Goa in the pool of water at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the venue of the National Games soccer competitions on Tuesday night.

``It was just like playing waterpolo on a football field,'' quipped Kerala's star striker I M Vijayan after his team's 7-6 victory in penalty shoot-out on a water-logged surface which was hardly conducive to ball control and skills. It was a comment that summed it all.

Jo Paul Ancheri, K V Dhanesh, Edison, A S Feroz, Jabir, Jiju Jacob and K A Anson scored for Kerala, while Sanny D'Costa, Alvita D'Cunha, Jules Dias, Prestly Pereira, Roque Pereira and Antony Mathews netted for the losers, after the regulation time ended goalless. Kerala's substitute goalkeeper Feroz Sherif dived to his right to fist away Alvito Pereira's kick to regain the title for his team.

The match which was kicked off after three hours of uncertainty, with both sides expressing their displeasure over the condition of the rain-soaked field, was finally held on a rutted pitch with pools of water all over it. The players of both the sides found it too hard to move about, and were frequently `trapped' by the holes on the ground.

Though both sides found it hard to get any pattern of play, Kerala were refreshingly more fluid, especially in the mid-field with Jiju Jacob and Dhanesh bolstering the deep defence and then positioning themselves to receive the ball and initiating attacks. They moved the ball well along the ground, despite the adverse field conditions, with short diagonals in the mid-field and with the linkmen swapping positions. Anson operated wide on the mid-field to provide Jo Paul and Vijayan the ball to wreak havoc, while Jasbir filled the role of providing a sound cover in front of his deep defenders.

The hard work and hustling of Sanny D'Costa and the tenacity of the deep defence helped the Goans to block their rivals. But they had no answer to Vijayan's skills and pace. They tried double marking him, but Vijayan relished the challenge of taking two players out of position with clever decoy moves that opened yawning gaps through which his colleagues were able able to run free. Besides he found his colleague with a stream of accurate high crosses that were either messed up in front of the rival goal, or cut off in the air by the Goan stoppers.

Jo Paul came pounding forward along the touchline in the 28th. The Goans were not sure whether to mark his team mates or to try block his path to the goal. Caught in two minds they gave too much space to Vijayan who accepted a pass at the top of the box and send a rising shot that missed the net by a whisker to the relief of the goalkeeper.

Karnataka win brone: #The hosts Karnataka stunned holders Bengal 2-1 to win the bronze in the losers' final held in the morning. Kennath Raj (7th) and Yoganathan (14th) found the net for Karnataka while Najimul Haque scored for the losers.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.