DSK Shivajians remained unbeaten, but its 3-3 draw against a fighting Indian Navy in a Pool A match of the Durand Cup here on Friday would not have been the result manager Dave Rogers would have hoped for.
The Pune-based I-League side with three foreigners in its ranks was held by a team that, for most part of the match, looked desperate to simply stay in the game.
A header by Irshad in the last few seconds of the game ensured Navy would walk off with its third draw in four games while Shivajians remain on top with two wins and a draw.
Interestingly, while the line-up listed Irshad, the player on field had Vikram on his jersey and no explanations were available for the disparity.
Only positive
Bibake Thapa put Navy ahead in the 4th minute in what was the only positive for Navy in the first half.
Shivajians controlled the game, created the chances and came close to scoring at least twice before Rohit Kumar sent in a rebound after a corner kick was blocked by the goalkeeper in the 38th minute.
Arif Shaikh made it 2-1 with a rasping shot that saw the Navy goalkeeper drawn out and stranded at the edge of the box.
Two minutes after resumption, Shivajians’ Spanish playmaker Juan Quero Barraso was put through by Shaikh and made no mistake in shooting through the goalkeeper’s legs. It looked all sealed up before Navy came back through Wayne Vaz and Irshad.
Shivajians were also visibly upset at the refereeing. A clear tackle inside the box in the 30th minute failed to earn it a penalty.
Rogers was not only upset that his team had failed to hold on to a two-goal lead, but also railed at the excessive added time at the end.
In Pool B, Aizawl FC registered its second win in as many games to top the group with six points.
Scrappy match
It was a scrappy match, but Aizawl managed to down Indian Air Force 1-0, courtesy Bright Middleton’s strike in the 35th minute.
The day’s final match saw Real Kashmir FC play its first full game of the competition and managed to earn one point after a 1-1 draw against Army Red.
Shaiq Rasool put RKFC ahead in the 50th minute before Sinelo Kathrengma equalled in the 86th.
The results:
Pool B: Aizwal FC 1 (Bright Midleton) bt IAF 0; RKFC 1 (Shaiq Rasool) drew with Army Red 1 (Sinelo Kathrengma).
Pool A: DSK Shivajians 3 (Rohit Kumar, Arif Shaikh, Juan Quero Barraso) drew with Indian Navy 3 (Bibake Thapa, Wayne Vaz, Irshad).
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