Mahindra, Air India split points

Local derbies can often end up turning into drab encounters, with teams tending to suffer from the fear of losing, and preferring to defend.

Local derbies can often end up turning into drab encounters, with teams tending to suffer from the fear of losing, and preferring to defend. Even though Friday8217;s I-League encounter between city giants Mahindra United and old warhorses Air-India at Cooperage provided a few moments of excitement in the latter period of play, the contest turned out to be a midfield tussle for a major part. The final score was 1-1.

The first half saw very few chances being created at either end, and the pace didn8217;t seem to pick up till a few minutes before the half-time whistle. The Jeepmen forward line missed a decent chance to take the lead, and the teams went into the break locked at 0-0.

The teams seemed to come out with more energy in the second half, and in the 50th minute, Air-India, under new captain Chukwuma Odafia, almost took the lead. Striker Surojit Roy jumped for the ball inside the box and seemed to win it, but he also unfortunately got a piece of opposition goalkeeper Subhasish Chowdhury as it crept into the back of the net. The goal was disallowed by Goan referee Benjamin Silva.

Mahindra finally struck on a counterattack, and striker Sushil Kumar Singh put them in front in the 53rd minute. But that only served to motivate the airmen further, and Subhas Singh brought them right back into the game with a 68th minute equaliser.

Air-India got another chance to snatch victory late in the game, but Ovieghara and striker Samson Singh failed to capitalise on a defensive error, and the chance went abegging.

Air-India coach Bimal Ghosh expressed disappointment at the standard of refereeing during the match, and believed that his team could have walked away with a win. 8220;We missed a couple of chances in the first half and had a golden opportunity to steal it in the end.

But I will not blame Ovieghara or Samson for that miss. These things happen in football,8221; he said.

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If Surojit8217;s goal would have been allowed, insisted Ghosh, the result could have been completely different as his team would have gone into the lead first.

Air-India now sit pretty at No 2 in the I-League table, having garnered 15 points from eight games.

Unwanted interruption
Before Mohammedan Sporting could wrap up their 1-0 win over Vasco Sports Club at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Friday, both teams had to endure an uncalled for 10-minute break. Fumes from a mosquito repellent operation in an adjacent hotel proved to be bad enough for officials to pause the game 33 minutes into the first half.

Vimal Pariyar8217;s 86th minute strike won the match for Mohammedan Sporting. Pariyar, who came on as a substitute, headed home a Sovan Chakraborty cross from the right.

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With this win, Sporting move to nine points from eight matches, while Vasco stay on two.