103rd Nadkarni Cup 2009              Air India v Maharashtra State Police   Match Report by Shailesh Karkera Air India dished out a near-flawless performance to put four unanswered goals past Maharashra State Police in their season opener - the first quarterfinal of the 103rd Nadkarni Cup 2009.  Despite the unpredictable weather which resulted in heavy water-logging and slushy patches across the pitch at the RCF Sports Complex, the reds zipped the ball around with relative ease and made the policemen look very ordinary.   New kid on the block As the game kicked off, all eyes focused on the man leading the red’s attack – Air India’s foreign recruit, striker Opera Ndubuisi. Fleet footed, agile and with an eye for a goal, the forward almost opened the scoring in the 9th minute after a hard strike by Kailash Patil rebounded off the keeper and landed invitingly in front of the unattended goal – only to be denied by some last ditch defending by the policemen. Penalty! Air India got on the score sheet as the game reached the half hour mark. All of the hard work put in by the MS Police defenders was undone by a single clumsy challenge inside the box which resulted in the referee pointing to the spot. Penalty. Opera stepped up to take the spot kick and found the net with a well placed effort to register Air India’s first goal of the season. Goal! 1-0 Two-Nothing The reds doubled their lead within a minute. After Soccor Velho’s through ball completely dissected the police defense in half, Kailash Patil timed his run to perfection and showed great composure in a one on one situation to beat the keeper with a low strike into the bottom corner. Goal! 2-0 At the other end, MS police forward Prakash Thorat’s powerful long range strike seemed headed for the top corner until a full-stretch save by keeper Arnab Dassarma came to Air India’s rescue.   Young Blood Air India brought on two new youngsters midway through the second half - Henry Gangte and M. Dada Nabeel. Both players had an impressive first game for the club, the latter capping his debut with a goal in the 75th minute. After receiving the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Baba’s exquisite first touch – arguably the best piece of individual flair throughout the game - took him past the flat-footed defenders and into the box. The power and precision on the resulting shot was too much for the keeper to handle as the ball crashed into the back of the net. Goal! 3-0. It's not over until.... Midfield livewire Tapan Maity added the finishing touches with Air India’s fourth in the 85th minute following some great approach play at the edge of the area. Playing a one-two with Opera, Tapan toyed with the Police defenders before blasting home past the helpless keeper. Goal!  4-0   At the close of play, Air India’s pre-tournament tag as favourites seemed justified as the team progressed to the semi finals in style.  A great start to what promises to be an eventful season ahead.