I-League race heats up as Aizawl FC drop points

Mahmoud Al-Amna (43rd minute) opened scoring for Aizawl and Lalthakima (56th) doubled the lead before drama unfolded at the Guru Nanak Stadium.

The already-intriguing I-League title race took another twist on Saturday after leaders Aizawl squandered a two-goal advantage to be held to a 2-2 draw by league debutants Minerva FC in Ludhiana. The draw leaves Aizawl with 30 points from 14 matches. They led East Bengal by a point going into their second straight away match and could have extended it had they held on to the two-goal lead established early in the second half.

Mahmoud Al-Amna (43rd minute) opened scoring for Aizawl and Lalthakima (56th) doubled the lead before drama unfolded at the Guru Nanak Stadium. However, Minerva, placed third from bottom in the 10-team league, put up a spirited comeback. Loveday (61st) pulled one back for Minerva after the hour-mark and Kareem Nurain (81st) levelled the scoreline.

Aizawl’s slip-up will give East Bengal a chance to return to the top of the table on goal difference if they beat Chennai City FC, who too have struggled on their league debut, on Sunday. The third team in contention for the title, Mohun Bagan, were held to a goalless draw by defending champions Bengaluru FC. Bagan are seven points behind Aizawl although they have played two games less than them owing to Asian club competition commitments.

The I-League goes into a fortnight-long break after Sunday’s matches due to the international break. The national team players will assemble in Mumbai on Monday for a short camp before the team leaves for its Asian Cup qualifier against Myanmar later this month.

East Bengal know they will enjoy a huge advantage if they win and go on top of the table with just four more rounds remaining. Their coach Trevor Morgan said it will be a test of character for the Kolkata giants if they hope to bounce following a morale-sapping defeat last week against Churchill Brothers at home.

“The last game was one of the worst days I’ve had. But we have to look forward. What’s done is done,” Morgan said. “We need to win tomorrow to remain in the race to win the I-league. If things went our way and we did what we need to do tomorrow, we could again be top of the league. But we are expecting a difficult game. Any team is capable of beating any other team. We found that out first hand in the previous game.”