The Hindu : Sport / Football : Air India sneaks through

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Monday, Apr 09, 2007
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Air India sneaks through

Principal Correspondent

BANGALORE: Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club's plucky show came to nought as Mumbai's Air India piloted by substitute Zaheer Abbas' goal, got the three points it wanted in the 12th round of the ONGC Cup National Football League tie here at the Football Stadium.

HASC was looking forward to some home support to boost its sagging morale after a string of poor performances. But the motley Easter Sunday crowd were let down by the ineptness of the HASC boys to convert their chances.

This was despite HASC enjoying the better of the exchanges in the first session with the two foreigners — Alesh Shamaki and Joseph Adeola — manning the centre admirably while goaltender Balaji looked sure and steady.

The absence of Xavier Vijay Kumar with two yellow cards took the sting out of the attack and Kuttimani and Reisangmi Vashum showed little enterprise or effectiveness upfront.

Kuttimani fired a weak left footer in the 20th minute, which Raju Ekka under the AI goal had no difficulty in collecting, and Bhuvan Joshi curled a 20-foot effort only to see the rival custodian gather without much fuss.

AI was clearly looking to avoid defeat and it shackled its offensive thrusts in the first half. But in the second, there was a little more urgency and pace in the AI sorties with the halfline of Zaheer Abbas, who came in for Noel Fernandez and Uttam Singh (for Sanju Pradhan), providing the thrust.

All-important goal

The all-important goal came for the Airmen came in the 61st minute when Santosh Koli floated a cross from the right and Zaheer Abbas nodded into the back of the net with Balaji left gaping.

Soon after the goal, AI's Hringsolal Thomte and Bhuvan Joshi of HASC were involved in a scrappy tackle and referee Shaji Kurian promptly showed the AI player the yellow card. AI coach Bimal Ghosh looked peeved at the decision and showed his displeasure, which only angered the local supporters. But the situation did not get out of hand.

AI now has 17 points from 12 matches while HASC languish at the bottom of the heap and face relegation, with just six points from 12 outings.

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