Football Football AFC Cup 2019: Rafi late strike rescues point for Chennaiyin against Minerva Substitute Mohammed Rafi struck late in the death to rescue a point for Chennaiyin FC against Minerva Punjab FC in the AFC Cup. Team Sportstar 19 June, 2019 17:56 IST Chennaiyin players celebrate Rafi's equaliser. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Team Sportstar 19 June, 2019 17:56 IST Substitute Mohammed Rafi struck late in the death to rescue a point for Chennaiyin FC against Minerva Punjab FC in the AFC Cup on Wednesday.After a goalless first half at the Indhra Gandhi International stadium in Guwahati, Samuel Lalmuanpia scored in the 62nd minute to give Minerva Punjab the lead in the the Group E encounter.Minerva took the lead on the counter against the run of play through Samuel. The Minerva No. 9 carried the ball to the edge of the CFC box before slotting it into the bottom corner past Karanjit.Rafi, who came on for Francis Fernandes with less than 20 minutes to go, scored an equaliser in the 90th minute after being set up by Anirudh Thapa.The second half substitute took a touch from Thapa’s cross from the left flank and blasted it into the top corner to make it 1-1. This was Rafi’s first goal of the season and third in the AFC Cup, having scored two goals for Mahindra United back in 2007.Rafi, then, had a glorious opportunity in stoppage time to make it 2-1 from a similar opportunity, this time from a cross from the right. The striker’s right-footed volley went agonisingly high as it ended all square.Chennaiyin (8 points) dropped to second in the table behind Abahani Dhaka (10), which defeated Manang Marshyangadi 5-0. Minerva is third in the table with five points. CFC travels to Nepal to face Manang in a must-win encounter in the final group game a week later on June 26. Chennaiyin will also need Abahani to drop points against Minerva so as to top the group and qualify for the knockout stage. Our XI to face @minervapunjabfc in the all-important @AFCCup clash Ralte in for the suspended Eli Sabia, and namma young stars Moya and Remi with their first-ever matchday involvement ..#ChennaiyinFC #PoduMachiGoalu #AFCCup2019 #CFCInAsia #MFCvCNY pic.twitter.com/ho7PHyreYh— Chennaiyin FC (@ChennaiyinFC) June 19, 2019 Earlier in the game, Minerva lost its goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh in the 11th minute after he suffered a nasty collision against C.K. Vineeth in a one-on-one challenge. He was taken away to a hospital in an ambulance.RESULTMinerva Punjab (India) 1 (Samuel Lalmuanpuia 62’) drew with Chennaiyin FC (India) 1 (Mohammed Rafi 90’) Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address. Dugout videos