November 21: Digvijay Naik's lone strike took Mumbai Port Trust to the semifinals of the Bombay Provincial hockey championships at Mahindra Stadium today.

Naik put MPT through in the 32nd minute when he pushed the ball into an unguarded goal after Javed Shaikh had done the spadework. Shaikh's move down the centre of the pitch grabbed the attention of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers goalkeeper Nandu Gopalan who managed to push the ball away. But a deflection went to the unmarked Naik for the resultant strike.

Defence proved both teams' strength. For MPT, Shayne D'Costa made a few correct saves and tackles before falling prey to evil and earning a yellow card. Bagade provided the saving grace for RCF. The swift forward took a diving shot in the 15th minute which was pushed out by goalkeeper Jahangir Shaikh.

Other results

Maharashtra State Police 5 (Prakash Shakpal 2, Raju Aspat 2, Ajmat Shaikh) bt Greater Mumbai Police 0.

BHA League at Khalsa College : Indian Airlines 2 (L Pinto, T A Subramanian) drew with Sachivalaya Gym (Rakesh Devlekar, Prakash Vad).

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.