Kiwi Kayne maims HAL

BANGALORE: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) once again did nothing to break their winless streak in the I-League. On Thursday, they suffered another reversal, going down 0-2 to Prayag United, Kolkata, in a fifth round match at the Football Stadium here.
When HAL team officials were scampering to find excuses for the embarrassing defeat, Sanjoy Sen, the Kolkata outfit's coach, wore a broad smile.For, it was a creditable feat for his side, which failed to register even a single win on away soil in the last season.
Kayne Vincent emerged the hero with his twin strikes but it was Bello Rasaq who walked away with the Man of the Match award for his stout defending.
Denson Devadas, who wore the captain's armband after Lalkamal Bhowmick was substituted with Jayanta Sen in the 80{+t} {+h} minute, too hogged the limelight with his assists in both the strikes.
Pouncing on Denson's precise through ball, Vincent unleashed a powerful shot that landed in the far post to give the visitors the crucial lead in the 10{+t} {+h} minute.
As the match was drawing to a close, Denson picked out Kayne once again __ this time with a flick __ but the Kiwi failed to adjust his pace. But he was lucky as HAL custodian Pramod, who took the field popping pain-relieving pills, ran out and tried to block his way. It earned Pramod a yellow card and Prayag a spot kick. Kayne himself took the kick, and bulged the net with a deft touch.
The aircraft defenders did exceptionally well to check Brazilian striker Josimar da Silva. He could not combine well with Kayne, or break the rival defence cordon.
"Josimar was tired, that's why he could not play his natural game," Sen said. "This away win makes me happy, but we have to plug many holes in our game. We made a lot of errors while passing. But our defenders did a fantastic job."
LACK OF COHESION
The lack of cohesion in the HAL ranks was brought to the fore once again. To compound their woes, the team coach and manager could not read the game and stitch a winning combination.
Despite missing two sitters, profligate Nigerian striker Jagaba Hamza continued in the field for the entire period. The decision to bring in defender Liliyan Kenneth in place of midfielder Sudheesh too defied logic while foreign striker Aleksandar Sujdovic was not even considered as a substitute.
The home side settled early and made an array of raids in the first quarter. Their best chance came minutes after conceding the lead, when Ajith Kumar Singh fed Hamza with a cross inside the box. The Nigerian striker latched on to it, but his feeble try hit the vertical and went out.
The defeat kept HAL at the bottom of the table, with just one point, while Prayag have moved to fourth with nine points, after five rounds.
HAL will play Air India at home in the sixth round on November 20.
Result: In Bangalore: HAL: 0 lost to Prayag United: 2 (Kayne Vincent 10, 84-penalty)
Points (after 5 rounds): HAL: 1 (four losses, 1 draw)
Prayag: 9 points (2 wins, three draws).