Super Manjit spoils HAL party

BANGALORE: It was one of those matches that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) could have won handsomely.
Everything went well for the home side in the first half. Their attackers showed good understanding and created several goal-bound moves; and HAL even took the lead as early as the second minute before Air India players could settle down.
However, Manjit Singh gate crashed into their party, scoring one and assisting in two others to help the Mumbai side notch a 4-2 win in a sixth round I-League match at the Football Stadium here on Sunday.
Manjit would love to remember this match for more reasons than one. It was his first I-League match of the season after a long injury lay-off. He was also lucky to get the captain's armband in the absence of senior pros in his side.
Manjit played the captain's role to perfection, sending a curling free-kick from 25 yards that deflected off Manandeep into the HAL goal in the eighth minute. Manjit himself added his name in the scorer's list with another free-kick in the 57th minute. Nigerian striker Henry Ezeh put Air India for the first time in the match in the 75th minute, tapping in a Manjeet curling corner-kick while substitute midfielder Sandesh Gadkari took the game away from the Aircraftsmen following a goalmouth melee in the dying minutes.
Air India coach too played a crucial role in the visitors' big win. When they were trailing 1-2 at the breather, Santosh Kashyap urged his boys to press hard and score more goals. "I believe in attacking football. Despite taking the lead in the second half, we never fell back and played a defensive game," he said.
In fact, HAL too shed their trademark defensive approach and employed an attacking game. For, they knew the tie against Air India provided them with an opportunity to collect full points.
Serbian Aleksander Sudjovic found a place in the starting eleven for the first time in the season and he combined with Nigerian Hamza upfront.
The tactic paid dividends in the second minute when Meiti scored off a fine cross from midfielder Vinoth. Despite Manandeep's equalizer, the hosts fought well and Sujdovic put the hosts ahead once again after collecting a measured cross from Hamza in the 20th minute.
On resumption, the visitors steadily took control of the game. They pumped in three goals to take their tally to 10 points. The Aircraftsmen remained on one point and the team management is mulling options ahead of Wednesday's tough match against East Bengal in the seventh round.
However, coach Muralidharan blamed goalkeeping errors for the defeat. "Pramod could have easily saved those two curling free-kicks. Our plan worked well in the initial stages as we scored two goals. It's tough to digest this defeat," he said.
Results:
In Bangalore: HAL: 2 (Malemngangba Meitei 2; Aleksander Sujdovic 20) lost to Air India: 4 (Manandeep Singh 8; Manjit Singh 57; Henry Ezeh 75; Sandesh Gadkari 90).
In Kolkata: Mohun Bagan: 1 (Odafa Okolie 21) bt East Bengal: 0.
In Goa: Churchill Brothers: 1 (Henry Antchouet 28) bt Mumbai FC: 0.