Air India played their heart out but did not have enough quality upfront to beat to Churchill Brothers in their Round 18 encounter of the I-League at the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Thursday.
They went down 0-1.
Skipper Roberto da Silva (Beto) scored from a rebound following a free-kick in the 30th minute for the Goan’s. Churchill (33 points) are now one-point behind second-placed East Bengal and seven behind leaders Dempo. They, however, have a game in hand. Air India, meanwhile, remain sixth having collected 24 points from 18 matches.
“I am happy that they played a good game, but for the missed chances in the second half. We failed to find the target on many occasion,” said Santosh Kashyap, Air India coach. “Pawan was at his best and averted a free-kick taken by Beto. He went airborne,” said Kashyap about his keeper who has been outstanding so far this season.
There were a few familiar names missing from both the sides - Henry Antchouet and ND Opara for Churchill and Henry Ezeh and Takayuki Omi for Air India — but that didn’t deter the teams from dishing out a good contest.
Beto pounced on a loose ball from a free-kick to put Churchill ahead at the half-hour mark. Air India came back stronger, Lamine Tamba combining well with Manandeep Singh before laying it off for Sandesh Gadkari. However, poor finishing by Sangha wasted the opportunity for the Mumbai side.
Pailan hold Salgaocar
Pailan Arrows managed to pull off a 0-0 draw at home to Salgaocar at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The draw leaves Salgaocar with 30 points from 18 encounters, while Pailan have eight points from 16 outings.
Stopwatch
Air India 0 lost to Churchill Brothers 1 (Beto 30)
Pailan Arrows 0 drew with Salgaocar 0
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