Both teams have, however, had already qualified for the pre-quarterfinals of the main Rovers set to commence here on November 16.

Arif Ansari scored the only goal of the match at the stroke of half-time off a free-kick that curled in, to the goalkeeper Anil Kumar's right. Central Railway, however, were guilty of missing many chances and so did the team from Chennai, though they had fewer in number.

Chennai Customs' coach D Shekharan admitted his team lost to a better side but brimmed with confidence prior to bigger tests that lie ahead for his team. ``We are gaining in strength and our players are slowly recovering from the injuries. So better things lie ahead,'' said the former international.

CR coach Irenio Vaz admitted to losing many chances but said that lack of match practice was the cause. The team, he said, had got the practice they needed from this tournament andwill now go into the Rovers with greater confidence.

That confidence was never lacking in the railwaymen as they dominated throughout and should have scored more often. That they did not, inspite of penetrating the Chennai defence repeatedly, was a reflection of their poor finishing. Asif Jamal, scorer in the semi-final, was guilty of a few, dispite making incisive moves. In the 80th minute, he faced only the goalkeeper inside the box and still shot weakly at him, after moving in well from the centre line.

His striking partner, Arshad Ansari, was no better. Ansari headed over the bar in the 30th minute from a good position, his move off Jamal's pass was thwarted by V Chandrashekhar in the 35th minute.