The I-League resumed after a 6 week international break which saw the national team getting dumped out of the AFC Challenge Cup without a single win. Dempo Sports Club had taken a clear lead at the top but the League was Ai??interestingly poised before the break with just 5 pointsAi??separatingAi??the 2nd placed Mohun Bagan and the 7th placed Prayag United teams.
The 21st round of the I-League kicked off inAi??KeralaAi??where Chirag United hosted Shillong Lajong. Biswajit Bhattacharya seems to have inspired Chirag as they defeated Shillong 3-2 in an interesting match courtesy a brace from C.K. Vineeth. Chirag took the lead in the 45th minute through Vineeth only for Liberian MenyongarAi??to equalize in the 49th minute. David Sunday lifted the ball over the rushing Shillong goalkeeper in the Ai??60th minute to score a Ai??brilliantAi?? goal. Vineeth’ s second in the 75th minute Ai??gave Chirag a 3-1 lead but Ai??Boithang Haokip pulled one back for Shillong in the 84th minute. Chirag however hung on in the last few minutes to earn their second win in as many matches and have leapfrogged Mumbai FC to move out of the relegation zone.
Kayne Vincent : A braces against Mumbai FC
Prayag United played host to Khalid Jamil coachedAi??Mumbai FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata looking to bounce back after defeats in the last two games. Despite missing the services of Indian Internationals Arnab Mondal and Deepak Mondal in the defense, Prayag managed to keep a clean sheet. A brace from Kayne Vincent gave Prayag the win. Vincent headed the first from a Bello Rasaq cross. Midfielder Shylo TulungaAi??was the star for Prayag as his through balls lead to the second and the third goals. Churchill’s draw meant that Prayag climbed above them to 6th place in the table.
In the last match of day 1, atAi??the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, it was business as usual for league leaders Dempo who had an easy 3-0 win over the bottom placed HAL. Ranty Martins scored a brace with the first coming through a penalty after Peter Carvalho was brought down in the HAL penalty box in the first half. Dempo strikers and midfielders missed many easy scoring chances with the second goal coming around the hour mark after Ranty latched on to a Koko Sakibo pass. Dempo’s latestAi??recruit, Japanese striker Yusuke Kato, scored the third in the 89th minute after coming off as a substitute . TheAi??differenceAi??could have been much more hadAi??HAL goalkeeper Amar Deb not made some superb saves.
The first match on day 2 saw East Bengal edge out Salgaocar 1-0 in a fast paced game that had the crowd on their feet at the Salt lake Stadium. Tolgey Ozbey scored for the home team from a Robin Singh cross Ai??but theAi??refereeing came under theAi??scanner again with a Salgaocar appeal for a penalty turned down. The defending champions clearly missed their coach Karim Bencherifa who was banned for this match as well as key players Rocus Lamare and Ishfaq Ahmed. Penn Orji was the star for the winners as he kept a check onAi??Ryuji Suoeka and also orchestratedAi??the moves for the Red and Gold brigade.
A view from East Bengal-Salgaocar match
Goan derby between Churchill and Sporting at Margo was essentially a story of two halves which ended in a 1-1 draw and with this result, Churchill’s dreams of a podium finishAi??have almost ended. South Sudan striker James Moga headed in the goal after just 5 minutes from Kalu’s free kick but then Sporting missed several chances to kill the match off. Churchill showed more purpose after the breather and were rewarded when Zakeer Mundampara scored with a low shot from just outside the box but Churchill forwards scuffed many chances to score and the match ended in a stalemate.
In the last match of day 2 Pune FC locked horns with Pailan Arrows at the Balewadi Sports Complex. Pune FC eked out a 1-0 win over their rivals thanks to a goal fromAi??Mandjou Keita after being set up by a nice move involvingAi??Douhou Pierre andAi??Izumi Arata. Indian International Subrata Paul resumed his goal-keeping duties for Pune andAi??thwarted a couple of attacks from the Arrow forwards.Ai??Ai??With this win, Pune have 37 points and are Ai??4th in the league table
Pune FC players celebrate their goal against Arrows
Air India took on second placed Mohun Bagan in an evening kickoff at theAi??Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune and it was an absolute cracker of a game with end-to-end stuff. Bagan took the lead through an own goal but a brace from Manandeep in quick time put Airmen in the lead as the teams went into the half-time break. Bagan urgency in the second half paid off as Odafa scored around the hour mark to equalize. Bagan defense looked questionableAi??throughout the match and despite theAi??presenceAi??of Nabi, Anwar and Kingshuk Air India strikers moved around at will in the Bagan half.
I-League Table
Who says I-Legaue is boring? A pulsating start and end to the I-League round 21 which saw Dempo establish a clear 8 point lead over the second placed East Bengal side. With 1 pointAi??separatingAi??second placed East Bengal and fourth placed Pune and 7 pointsAi??separating East Bengal from 8th placed Sporting, the league is all set for a photo finish .Ai??The relegation battle between Chirag and Mumbai FCAi??addsAi??flavourAi??to the league.
Match of the Week
The opening match for this round, the Chirag-Shillong match, set the tone for the I-League with a pulsating encounter that saw Chirag edge out Shillong 3-2. Promising striker Vineeth gave Chirag the lead just on the stroke of the half time only for Shillong to equalize just after the breather. Goals from David Sunday and a second from Vineeth gave Chirag a 3-1 lead and just when everyone thought the match was over, HaokipAi??pulled one back in the 83rd minute for the visitors to make the match interesting but Chirag hung on
Goal of the Week
Manandeep Singh’sAi??bicycleAi??kick goal against Mohun Bagan isAi??deservedlyAi??the goal of the week and probably the goal of the season. Manandeep’s brace against Mohun Bagan must have made Savio more guilty as heAi??didn’tAi??give Manandeep enough playing time and he was dropped from the AFC Challenge squad.
Miss of the Week
Tolgey Ozbey and Ranty Martins were both guilty of missing several chances, some of them open goal chances. Both of them scored winning goals for their clubs but both fluffed easy chances asAi??has been the story throughout the season
Star of the Week
C.K. Vineeth created a stir when he scored aAi??bicycle kick goal against Dempo in round 14 and he is the star of the week because of Ai??his brace this week. The Chirag United top-scorer is certainly aAi??playerAi??to look forward in the remaining rounds and is a crucial player for Chirag as they look to avoid relegation.
Save of the Week
Subrata Paul made a comeback to the Pune FC team after a long injury layoff and made an immediate impact when he saved a swirling long range shot from arrows striker Alywn George that seemed to be going in and this gets our nod as the save of the week. Subrata also came out of his box toAi??thwart a C.S. Sabeeth effort when he had dribbled past the two Pune FC central defenders
Flop of the Week
N.D. Opara came on as aAi??secondAi??half substitute for Beto who was not his usual self in the match and theAi??Nigerian failed to make any impact and in factAi??missed three easy chances to add to Churchill’sAi??frustrations.
Bagan defense also deserves this unwantedAi??honour.
ControversyAi??of the Week
Chettri – Bagan Fans Argument
Bagan’s controversies do not seem to come to an end and after the match against Airmen fans indulged in an argument with Sunil. The Bagan fans have been of the opinion that Sunil, who looked listless in the match, Ai??has not been able to justify his Ai??hefty price tags and has been unavailableAi??for most of the season.
Refereeing continued to come under the scanner both in the East Bengal – Salgaocar match as well as the Air India – Mohun Bagan match with a lot of penalty appealsAi??gettingAi??rejected
