Nagpur Police register first win account taste win after four losses

NAGPUR: City Police made amends and tasted the success after four frustrating matches. Once a strong outfit, the city cops have been struggling to find the rhythm. On Friday, they changed the tactics and got a result in the form of 3-2 win. They defeated Kamptee-based Ansar Club to record their first victory in the NDFA-JSW Elite Division League at the Central Railway Ajni ground.
City Police rode on Azhar Sheikh, Shoeb Ansari and Kailash Pardhi's goal-scoring performances to open their account in the points table. After having forgettable four matches, where they failed to show any fight, the bottom-placed got their hopes lifted with the win.
"It was a much-needed victory for us. Since, we are already out of race for the next round, we were eagerly looking to gather points to climb the table as relegation danger is already looming on us," said Abdul Abid Khan, who is the coach of City Police.
Abid and assistant coach Navin Anthony had a tough time dealing with the team's poor standing. Lack of practice could be one of the reasons for such a display from the experienced side.
"Our priority is the official work. This season, the work load was more, and it affected our practice sessions. Despite such a scenario, our players never missed a match and always gave 100% on the field," Abdul added.
The Ansar outfit, who came close to get relegated twice in the last three seasons, matched Nagpur City Police on every front. They rallied twice and made it 2-2. However, midfielder Pardhi, who is known for his shooting, did an excellent job to make it 3-2 in the 75th minute.
The city cops are standing at the crucial juncture in the tournament. They have three matches left. They will be playing Big Ben, Nagpur Blues and Nagpur Academy, all of whom lack experience. Cops may carry the momentum of this match to save the relegation.
"Our matches with the top teams are already over. Now, we have a good chance of staging a comeback since next three games are against relatively less experienced sides. Looking at today's win and pattern of play, I am very positive to add full nine points on offer," Abdul added.
RESULT
City Police Nagpur 3 (Azhar Sheikh 9th minute, Shoeb Ansari 55th, Kailash Pardhi 75th) bt Ansar Club 2 (Moin Khan 22nd, Saquib Ahmed 65th).