Tamil Nadu defended brilliantly against Railways to hold their opponents to a goalless draw in their final quarterfinal league match in the 66th Santosh Trophy in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

The valiant effort helped Tamil Nadu book a berth in the semi-finals of the national tournament.

The team had the nous to understand that a draw would suffice to take them through to the last four. It was, no doubt, a team effort. But, more importantly, it was the marvellous back-line that set up a profitable outcome for Tamil Nadu.

Railways saw a lot of the ball in the second half but weren’t allowed to create many chances — such was the alacrity Tamil Nadu displayed. They were impregnable on the day.

Tamil Nadu coach Syed Sabir Pasha doffed his hat to his boys. “I am proud of the way we fought against Railways.

We did not play our natural game and had to employ a different approach (sitting deep) which wasn’t easy by any means.

Before the game, we spent a lot of time on the board explaining to each one of them about his task. It was a difficult match,” he said.

“This outing will give them immense confidence for the semis. They realise that if they can prevent a good side such as Railways from scoring, they can also challenge Manipur in the semi-finals.”

Against the railway unit, Tamil Nadu were in a spot of bother after losing their regular centre-back R. Naveen Kumar through suspension.

However, Naveen’s replacement M. Murthy slipped into the role with absolute panache. After playing his first game of the tournament, Murthy said: “The whole team felt bad after our teammates were punished.

I wanted to do well and make Naveen feel better. I was confident of a good show,” said Murthy who plays for AGORC in the CFA league.

The other stopper-back K. Sathish has played his heart out for Tamil Nadu. Never the one to get bogged down, Sathish shielded his goalkeeper like a virile lion.

“The four of us (right-back Suman Raj and left-back N. Dhinakaran being the other two) had a great understanding.

Our coach asked us not to let our guards down and I am happy we were able to achieve our target,” noted Chennai Customs’ Sathish.

Indian Bank’s Dhinakaran lauded the efforts of his teammates. “It wasn’t just about us. The entire team cohesively worked towards reaching the semis.

From the midfielders to the wingers and even the strikers ran back hard to support us,” added Dhinakaran.

Meanwhile, Naveen, who was visibly devastated by the red-card incident even until the kick-off against Railways, turned upbeat after hearing the final whistle.

“What a match! There are no words to describe my happiness. We are pumped up like never before and that’s real bad news for Manipur,” said Naveen, adding that he was innocent and had no role to play in the brawl against Mizoram.

It wasn’t easy on the eye to see Tamil Nadu play so deep but Sabir had got his drudgery tactics spot on.

“We did what was needed to get the job done. We will revert to our attacking approach against Manipur,” concluded Sabir.

All over for murugappan and naveen

Tamil Nadu received a jolt ahead of their Santosh Trophy semi-final against Manipur on Saturday. Two of their experienced players, left-winger V.R. Murugappan and centre-back R. Naveen Kumar, have been banned indefinitely by the AIFF disciplinary committee.

The duo, who were involved in a brawl during the Mizoram match in the QF league, will not play any further role in Tamil Nadu’s campaign at the national tournament.

The decision was conveyed to Tamil Nadu through an official AIFF letter that was handed over to the team’s coach Syed Sabir Pasha at the managers’ meeting on Thursday.

Mizoram’s Lalchhawnkima, Lalrinfela and F. Lalrinpuia are the other three players to face the axe.

The AIFF decision is harsh because it has not been based on evidence. Even though the AIFF disciplinary committee chairman is out of the country, the all-India body has shown unjust haste in handing out punishments.

So, who has made the decision in chairman’s absence? If the punishment was meted out after watching the video, then more players should have been banned because the scuffle was free for all.

Apparently, Rakesh Bakshi, deputy chairman of the AIFF disciplinary committee, was the one who conveyed the message in the absence of the chairman.

The way the situation has been handled is also baffling because the ban comes after match commissioner AK Mamukoya (of Kerala) had assured the Tamil Nadu camp that the issue was sorted out after players from both teams offered unconditional apologies on the day after the incident. The Tamil Nadu management here was in the dark over the decision of the AIFF.

The AIFF has decided not to show any leniency to Tamil Nadu, even though it was a Mizoram player who had started the brawl.

The ban is inconsequential for the northeastern state because they are already out of the tournament. But for Tamil Nadu, it’s a crushing blow as they have lost two key players.