Rain halts IFA Shield quarter-final

The IFA Shield quarter-final between Federation Cup winners Mohun Bagan and Tollygunge Agragami was abandoned a few minutes into the second half following heavy rain, which rendered ground conditions at the Salt Lake stadium in Calcutta unplayable.

The teams were locked 1-1 when referee Arup Chakraborty terminated the encounter after consultation with rival skippers - Bagan's Debjit Ghosh and Tollygunge's Sasthi Duley.

A slight drizzle for about 15 mintues before the match rendered the ground conditions soggy, and the players' boot studs further aggravated the situation by the end of the first session.

The sky again opened up during the half-time, which had to be stretched to 35 mintues before play could resume.

Tollygunge coach Amal Dutta and other players repeatedly expressed their unwillingness to continue, and their goalkeeper Gopal Das was seen demonstrating to the referee that the ball was not rolling well.

However, Chakraborty stood firm and resumed play. But within three minutes, as there was no let up in the rain, he was forced to consult his linesmen and abandon the match.

Bagan dominated the first half, but conceded a surprise goal in the seventh minute, when Moses Owira scored from a counter attack. The glamour club restored parity through Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto in the 24th minute.

Following the abandonment, the Indian Football Association held an emergency meeting and decided to replay the match on October 3.

As per the revised fixtures, three last eight matches will be staged on that day.

While fancied Brazilian outfit Palmeiras will take on Nam Dinh of Vietnam in the Salt Lake stadium, the same venue will later stage the Bagan-Tollygunge encounter under floodlights.

Mukti Joddha of Bangladesh clash with Tata Football Academy in the day's other match at the Howrah stadium.

ast Bengal will meet F C Kochin on Tuesday t the Salt Lake stadium as per the original schedule.

IFA joint secretary Ranjit Gupta said both the semi-final matches will be played on October 5. The final is slated for October 7.

The Salt Lake stadium will be the venue for both the semi-finals and the final.