CHANDIGARH: Playing a defensive game Accountant General Punjab upset the calculations of hot contenders Delhi Audit to annex the North Zone IA and AD Football Tournament organized by Accountant General Haryana by 4-2 in tie-breaker session in the final match played at the Sector 17 Football Stadium here Wednesday.

The regulation period of 70-minute proved unproductive as both teams failed to score a goal. No extra time was given and the tie-breaker rule was applied after the stipulated session. Delhi Audit had a disastrous start as Rishi Kumar booted his spot kick out. Later Neeraj Chaudhary's penalty was saved by AG Punjab goalkeeper Harpreet Singh. Only Sameer Jung and Subhash Negi  could convert  their spot kicks without any problem.

Hemant Sharma, Deepak Kumar, Jitender Singh and Sanjay Kumar converted their penalties to guide AG Punjab to victory. As Punjab had established an unassailable 4-2 lead fifth spot kicks from both sides were not required.

AG Punjab knew their strength well against a balanced Delhi Audit team. However, Delhi Audit were unable to converted their territorial supremacy into goal as AG Punjab resorted to tight man-to-man marking. AG Punjab's Deepak effectively policed Delhi Audit's star striker Subhash Negi. Delhi Audit's another star player Rishi Kumar shadowed by Rakesh Sethi. This blunted the Delhi Audit's attack. AG Punjab goalkeeper Harpreet Singh also rose to the occasion and made some fine saves.

Delhi Audit launched their offense in the fourth minute and Neeraj Chaudhary unleashed a powerful shot from the left flank. Punjab custodian Harpreet Singh dived to his right to save it. A combined move among Subhash Negi, Hitender Rao and Sameer Jung saw the last named player's shot going wide.

Four minutes after resumption, Delhi Audit were awarded a free kick outside the box. Rishi's thundering left footer failed to get past goalkeeper Harpreet Singh. Against the run of play, AG Punjab counter-attacked in the 49 th minute and Rajeev Rattan passed the ball to Vinay Kanwar whose shot was collected by Delhi Audit goalkeeper Avneet Singh.

Delhi Audit had a last chance to win in the regulation period. A move from the left flank resulted in a goalmouth scramble and Rishi's shot lacked direction as the ball went out.

Principal Accountant General (Audit) Punjab and Chandigarh, Mr R P Singh, was the chief guest and distributed the prizes.

Teams:

AG Punjab:  Harpreet Singh, Manharpreet Singh, Deepak Sethi, Deepak Kumar, Jitender Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Rajeev Rattan, Rakesh Sethi, Vinay Kanwar and Deepak   (Jaswinder).

Delhi Audit:Avneet Singh, Bikram Bisht (Santosh Kumar), Rattan Kumar, Satish Kumar, Mohd Tayab, Subhash Negi, Rishi Kumar, Daljeet Bisht, Sameer Jung, Hitender Rawat and Neeraj Choudhary.