Ozone FC and Hindustan FC played out a 2-2 draw in their I-League 2nd Division League final round fixture on Sunday to share the spoils at the FSV Arena in Bengaluru. While the draw knocked Ozone out of the competition, it put Hindustan on top of the table provisionally with 4 points.
Ozone got off to a flying start when Sabeeth Sathyan opened the scoring with a well-taken shot inside the box following a neat back-heel from Yongchan Son. However, Ozone's joy was short lived as Hindustan surged forward and equalised when Kushant Chauhan fired a blistering shot to make it 1-1 two minutes later.
Two goals within first 10 minutes on either side of the pitch opened up the game as both sides searched for a crucial blow.
Despite enjoying a lot of possession in the later stages of the first-half, Ozone attackers failed to click as a unit and the supply from their midfield was often wasted. The scoreline remained one-goal-a-piece going into the breather.
In the second-half, Hindustan ran circles around their opponents, and in the 51st minute Ozone FC keeper Amit Kumar blocked a close range shot by Kushant Chauhan to concede a corner before denying Shailesh Maurya three minutes later. Hindustan efforts were finally rewarded after substitute Ashutosh Thapliyal turned Chinta Chandrashekar upside down before unleashing a right footed bullet in the 57th minute.
The Delhi-based side almost got its third goal in the 76th minute when Shailesh Maurya and Nikhil Gehlot combined on the left flank. A quick one-two sent the former clear and the lanky winger cut past two defenders only for his powerful drive to go inches over the horizontal.
Both sides proceeded to engage in end-to-end action as Hindustan looked for a winner. Ozone, on the other hand, capitalised on a defensive error as Robert De Souza scored with eight minutes left on the clock to make it 2-2 to snatch a point for his side.
Ozone will face TRAU FC next on Wednesday, while Hindustan FC will square off against Real Kashmir later in the same day in a match that could turn out to be the title decider.
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