Aizawl, January 9 (ANI): Aizawl FC and Real Kashmir’s defenders proved too strong and forwards too rusty as their clash at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Monday ended in a goalless draw.
Subhasish Roy Chowdhury and Lalmuansanga, the two goalkeepers, stood tall in a match characterised by missed opportunities. The ball did find the net twice though, once for each side, but from offside positions. Aizawl’s Ugandan forward Henry Kisekka curled in a right-footer from the left through the far post but was ruled offside in the eighth minute. In the 28th minute, Real Kashmir’s Ghanaian forward Ibrahim Nurudeen suffered the same fate. Yakubu Wadudu sent in the cross from the right and Nurudeen headed it in, but he was clearly ahead of the last line of Aizawl defence.
Pinho, on the other hand, remarked, “Football is a game of mistakes.” Having made defensive errors in their previous match, he was happy with the progress shown on the day and said finishing in attacking third will be worked on.
Even though the Aizawl coach said, “We had more clear cut chances than them”, the match would have ended in a heartbreaking loss for his side had Yakubu’s shot not hit the post in the 90th minute. He and the hero of the match Nurudeen got into a scoring position many a time but a proper final touch eluded them.
Aizawl’s best chance to score came in the stoppage time of the first half, when young talent Tharpuia ran into the box from the right. He had enough space ahead to shoot himself but chose to pass it to Kisekka, who was right in the middle of the box. This unselfishness did not bear fruit as Kisekka could only provide a weak touch that deflected off a Real Kashmir defender and sailed over the bar. Winger Mafela had a good match, too, but only up to the penalty box. His shot at goal in the 49th minute was not powerful enough to beat Subhasish. Despite the Real Kashmir goalie’s doggedness, Yakubu’s free-kick had almost turned into an own goal in the 51st minute but Subhasish tipped it over the bar.
The only time Subhasish floundered was in the 76th minute, when Adinga’s powerful shot slipped out of his grasp, but Kisekka failed to provide the all-important touch once again.
Aizawl goalkeeper Muansanga maintained an adventurous approach in the game he left the goalline whenever the ball was floated into the box. He was successful in averting danger most of the time but landed in trouble soon after the breather when his weak fist fell to Nurudeen. Fortunately, the Ghanaian’s shot was blocked by a defender just in time.
This result keeps Real Kashmir in the fourth spot with 17 points in 10 matches, while Aizawl are seventh with 13 points from the same number of matches.
𝑍𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑟, 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙,𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑝, 𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜𝑠
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