India end Barcelona sojourn with victory

Fit-again striker Sunil Chhetri converted a penalty as the Indian football team wound up its Barcelona training tour on a winning note, beating Spanish third division side FC Santboia by a solitary goal in their fourth and final friendly game, High Performance Sports at the outskirts of Barcelona on Wednesday night.

Chhetri scored from the spot in the 17th minute after his strike partner and captain Baichung Bhutia was brought down by a Santboia defender inside the danger area.

Bhutia played for the full 90 minutes as coach Bob Houghton made only one substitution in his starting line-up -- that of Chhetri, who has just recovered from a right ankle injury, by Sushil Singh in the 58th minute.

The early goal gave the Indians the boost to go on the offensive and Anthony Pereira could have made it 2-0 in the 26th minute but the Indian left-winger shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The Spanish team, however, pressed hard for the equaliser and had a couple of attempts on target in the first session but each time Subrata Pal, under the Indian bar, came up with good saves.

After the breather, Santboia changed almost all from the starting line-up but India dominated. Both sides could not create any clear chances though India made attempts from set-pieces.

Bhutia had a couple of attempts at the Santboia goal but without success.

The victory saw India remain unbeaten in their month-long sojourn at FC Barcelona. They won two games and drew two, all against Spanish third division sides.

The Indian team reaches Delhi on Friday and will disperse for home the following day. They will have a camp at Gurgaon from August 12 till the Nehru Cup begins at the Ambedkar stadium on August 19.

India line-up: Subrata Pal, Surkumar Singh, Anwar, Gouramangi Singh, NS Manju, Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence, N P Pradeep, Anthony Pereira, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri (Sushil Singh, 58th).