The Hindu : Sport / Football : Air-India, Sporting match ends in draw

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Football

Air-India, Sporting match ends in draw

MUMBAI: Air-India and Mohammedan Sporting were locked in a thrilling 2-2 draw in the 16th round of the ONGC Cup National Football League at the Cooperage on Tuesday, similar to the 3-3 draw in the first leg.

The latter, facing a must-win situation to avoid relegation, came back twice via Congodefender Eric Bolwe Mputu, cancelling out strikes by Samson Singh for the home side.

Sporting, coached by Biswajit Bhattacharjee, remains in ninth position with 12 points and faces relegation. Air-India, with Bimal Ghosh in charge, moves up to seventh ahead, of Sporting Clube de Goa, both on 18 points.

Samson increased his goals tally to eight in the NFL with two superb goals, leaving the Kolkata defence rattled.

The first goal happened in the 20th minute, the AI player trapping a cross from the right by wing-back Noel Fernandes and bulging the net with a stunning 25-yard volley on the move.

Samson's second, in the second minute of add-on time before the first half ended, was equally spectacular.

This time he blasted home past custodian Gopal Das off a square pass at the top of the box from skipper Paresh Shivalkar.

Mputu struck in the 37th and 80th minute, hammering home a loose ball into the net on a counter-attack from the right after a cross from Mir Farooq Hyder forced the AI defence to regroups.

AI defender A.K. Martins and goalkeeper Raju Ekka made goalline saves before the Congo defender struck again.

The Mumbai team could have won had Narendra Meetei not shot straight into Sporting custodian Das from hand-shaking range off a neat pass from substitute Binoy Kuruvilla. — Special Correspondent

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport