PUNE, Dec 16 : Air India’s dream of scoring an hat-trick of wins fizzled out when a brilliant individual effort from substitute Boithang Haokip earned Shillong Lajong a late 1-1 draw in the I-League match at Balewadi stadium, on Sunday (December 16).
Haokip’s 85th minute effort cancelled out the 69th minute goal from Air India’s Souvik Chakraborty in a match where little separated the two sides.
Chakraborty received a long throw from Vijith Shetty that landed straight in front of the unmarked winger and he did no mistake to head the ball in.
But it all changed when substitute Boithang Haokip collected the ball from midfield and ran down the flanks going past N Pradeep.
What followed was an absolute display of individual brilliance as the nimble footed Haokip cut in from the right beating Pradeep all ends up and unleashing a sweetly timed shot into the far corner.
“This is the fourth or fifth time we have failed to hold on to a lead and I am disappointed to settle for a draw,” said Air India interim coach Anthony Fernandes.
The fixture saw the end of IFA referee Tusher Guha’s tenure as a referee after he first held the whistle in 1993 at Cooperage.
The first real chance of the match came when Guha awarded Air India a free-kick just outside the box.
Junior stepped up to take the kick but was comfortably saved by Lajong’s custodian Lalthuammawia Ralte fifteen minutes into the match.
It was Shillong who had the better opportunities in the first half as they exploited the large gaps left in the midfield by Air India with their skipper Micky Fernandes who was running his socks off to make ground in the centre of midfield.
From the other end, the ambidextrous Renedy Singh was causing all sorts of problems with his dead ball skills.
“It was a clash between two sides with small budgets and in the end I feel that it was a fair result. The boys played well,” said Shillong Lajong coach Desmond Bulpin.
Over the 90 minutes, both teams were sharing equal amount of possession with no real chances in the first half hour.
The Airmen who had fielded the same line-up which thrashed Mumbai FC 4-1 now sit in tenth place in the league with 11 points while Lajong occupy the eight place with 13 after eleven matches.
The draw helped Shillong climb to No 8 in the table with 13 points, while Air India stay at No 10 with 11 points.
Haokip’s 85th minute effort cancelled out the 69th minute goal from Air India’s Souvik Chakraborty in a match where little separated the two sides.
Chakraborty received a long throw from Vijith Shetty that landed straight in front of the unmarked winger and he did no mistake to head the ball in.
But it all changed when substitute Boithang Haokip collected the ball from midfield and ran down the flanks going past N Pradeep.
What followed was an absolute display of individual brilliance as the nimble footed Haokip cut in from the right beating Pradeep all ends up and unleashing a sweetly timed shot into the far corner.
“This is the fourth or fifth time we have failed to hold on to a lead and I am disappointed to settle for a draw,” said Air India interim coach Anthony Fernandes.
The fixture saw the end of IFA referee Tusher Guha’s tenure as a referee after he first held the whistle in 1993 at Cooperage.
The first real chance of the match came when Guha awarded Air India a free-kick just outside the box.
Junior stepped up to take the kick but was comfortably saved by Lajong’s custodian Lalthuammawia Ralte fifteen minutes into the match.
It was Shillong who had the better opportunities in the first half as they exploited the large gaps left in the midfield by Air India with their skipper Micky Fernandes who was running his socks off to make ground in the centre of midfield.
From the other end, the ambidextrous Renedy Singh was causing all sorts of problems with his dead ball skills.
“It was a clash between two sides with small budgets and in the end I feel that it was a fair result. The boys played well,” said Shillong Lajong coach Desmond Bulpin.
Over the 90 minutes, both teams were sharing equal amount of possession with no real chances in the first half hour.
The Airmen who had fielded the same line-up which thrashed Mumbai FC 4-1 now sit in tenth place in the league with 11 points while Lajong occupy the eight place with 13 after eleven matches.
The draw helped Shillong climb to No 8 in the table with 13 points, while Air India stay at No 10 with 11 points.
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