FC Kochin downs Air India

By Our Special Correspondent

KOCHI, FEB. 1. FC Kochin, uncharacteristic in its approach, was forced to survive several anxious moments before it got past a fighting Air India 2-1 in the V National Football League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Never showing the class befitting the leader of the 12-team pack, the home side was helped to its fourth win in five matches by the goals scored by its Liberian recruits, Eugene Gray and Aaron Cole, midway through the second-half, while Air India's consolation goal was returned by its skipper, Khalid Jamil.

To begin with, it was never hard to diagnose the predicament faced by the home side in the field this evening. For, its weakness in the midfield was only too glaring to escape attention, the visible frailty also providing enough room for the rival defence to cut into the evil designs of the home team's frontline in testing the strength of Yusuf Ansari, under the Air India bar.

With Bungo Singh and Dennis George also quick in getting back to seal the flanks from their position in the half- line, the Air India defence manned by Henry Picardo, Khambiton Singh, Osborn D'Souza and Raju Singh with their quick first-time clearances and clever shadowing on I.M. Vijayan and Aaron Cole only emphasised the defensive strategy worked out by the team to hold back the lion in its own den.

Vijayan, back into the role of a striker, did come up with a much improved display but his quick release of the ball could not be met and taken into possession by the rest of FC Kochin's attacking brigade, lacking the required speed and experience to do so.

FC Kochin made to back-pedal

Having thus allowed Air India to set the day's agenda and dominate the midfield, the FC Kochin defence was often forced to back-pedal, especially as the Mumbai forwards pressed hard to find their way into the rival goalarea. True, that Khalid Jamil, who missed the Sahara Cup due to a groin injury, was found wanting in piecing together the Air India attack in the expected fashion. But still the side managed to keep up the pressure through Tomba Singh and the alliance he carved out with Anthony Fernandez in the right.

The duo never had problems to get past C.K. Jithesh and push the ball right into the heart of the FC Kochin goal-area through to the direction of Ratan Singh who on his own had little difficulty to make progress time and again leaving his marker, Dinesh Nair dumbfounded. Yet, if the home side overcame the consistency shown by the trio, it was only to the timely interceptions effected by Jo Paul Anchery, Patrick Nuku or Sunday Seah. Seah, once again promoted into the frontline after the break, was successful in bringing about a qualitative change into the home team's attack as Vijayan withdrew from the front and took upon himself the responsibility to design his side's forays into the rival half. However, with the rest of the midfield not measuring up to the expectations it looked to be a lost cause before Eugene Gray broke the shackles of the Air India defence and helped FC Kochin go ahead.

The lead goal was a creative effort by Vijayan and his measured cross to Anoj in the left. The latter, in turn, more as an attempt to avoid an advancing defender hooked the ball into the Air India box where Gray was well-positioned to head the ball home. The breakthrough indeed proved to be tonic for the home side and as it pressed the accelerator to consolidate its position, Cole and Seah, found the uprights in quick succession before the former put the issue beyond doubt with a brilliant long-ranger off a Vijayan pass; only to see Air India reduce the margin at the stroke of the final whistle through Jamil off a free-kick awarded in Air India's favour after substitute Narendra Meetei was tripped well inside the box by home team defender V.B. Santosh.

FC Kochin, now having ten points, will stay back home to play ITI, Bangalore on February 5 in its fifth round outing, while Air India, which stays put at four points, will next meet Tollygunge Agragami in Mumbai on February 6.

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