Air India, Sporting Goa split points in a fast-paced encounter at the Cooperage
MUMBAI: There’s something seriously wrong with the Goan teams in the ONGC Cup 10th National Football League (NFL). After an impressive performance in the last edition, where they were six out of 12 teams to start with and eventually three finished among the top five, the path was virtually similar this season too. Only, the destination was different.
Sunday was no different. This time it was Sporting Clube de Goa who made yet another addition to the series of disappointing results, securing a 1-1 draw against local outfit Air India despite dominating the match and having a plethora of chances for an outright win.
The home team was the first to strike, even before the field had time to spread. Paresh Shivalkar, who has been impressive in this campaign, put Air India ahead. Thereafter, it was Sporting which did the bulk of the running. Adewvsi Adebayo, Chidi Edeh, Nicholas Rodrigues and Francis Silveira all missed scoring opportunities as Sporting continued their assertion. In a bid to get that elusive goal, their coach Clifford Chukwama made a couple of early substitutions (Joe Rodrigues for Silveira and Joseph Pereira for Vincent Pires) but to no avail.
Air India’s only other significant move in the opening half involved Paresh making a superb cross from the left to Vijith Shetty. Alas, the latter’s shot went straight to ‘keeper Luis Barretto’s hands. At the halfway mark, it was 1-0 in Air India’s favour.
Immediately after resumption of play, the airmen made mess of a glorious opportunity to double their lead as Bashiru Abbas fumbled. Sporting had a couple of opportunities to draw level but man-of-the-match Raju Ekka was up to the task for AI, making some impressive saves. The Goan team was unlucky when captain Bibiano Fernandes’ shot kissed the opposition bar before going out.
Then, the equaliser happened out of blue moon. Substitute Joe Rodrigues got a through ball and made no mistake. Substitute Hardeep Saini’s shot hit the post as AI survived some anxious moments before heaving a sigh of relief.
With this draw, the local club further cemented their seventh place while Sporting missed yet another chance.
“We have been inconsistent throughout the season,” said Chukwama after the match. A good observation indeed, but coming a bit too late in the day.
Mah United held
NFL champion-designate Mahindra United concluded their league engagements with a goalless draw against Dempo SC in Margao, while Mohun Bagan pipped JCT Mills, Phagwara, 1-0 on Sunday, to cement third place.
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