F C Kochin stay unbeaten, but just about

S Ayyappa Swamy

Five days ago State Bank of Travancore coach Mohd Najeeb, the former India player, was cursing everything, everybody and their uncles too. Ground, referee, scheduling, his own players, rivals…. Barring himself. He even held an impromptu conference with spectators and it was a quite a funny sight. About 50 fans on the other side of the fence and Najeeb spitting verbal volleys as the lone man at the Cooperage ground, in Bombay. His side had just got a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Air-India.

The scene shifts to Thiruvananthapuram, where SBT are based. And hey, presto, in a matter of 15 minutes, his tone has changed and Najeeb is eulogizing everything, everybody and their uncles too. And why not, SBT pulled off a stunner, defeating former champions Salgaocar Sports Club 2-0, with both goals coming in the second half through nippy striker Asif Saheer.

Traditionally, SBT have done well in home matches. Prior to Sunday’s tie, they had played three, drawing two and losing one. The victory over Salgaocar apart being their first at home is also first overall in this fifth National Football League.

It is a big blow for Salgaocar, who have now lost three matches in row, the previous two being against Vasco and Mahindra United. As one of their senior players pointed out, coach Marcus Pacheco is just not having the luck and even his substitutions are not working out. In another 10 days, the burly Pacheco will lose three of his key players – Jules Alberto, Alvito D’Cunha and Robert Fernandes – all of whom will be in national camp for the Pre-World Cup ties. Come to think of it, could this be the stroke of luck that Pacheco needs?

Stroke of luck indeed it was that saw FC Kochin escape with a 1-1 result against the draw specialists Tollygunge Aggragami. Abdullatheef Seriki silenced 30,000 people with a goal and Tollygunge were all set to hold on to it until a defensive blunder saw Kochin getting the neutralizer. Dinesh Nair, the goalkeeper who plays right wing-back nowadays, sent in a cross from the right which was headed into his own goal by Felix Abayomi. To the consternation of coach Amal Dutta and his team, the goal came in added-on time.

Though technically, it should be considered a self-goal as the ball was not goalbound. The goal is likely to be credited to Nair, who now becomes the second goalkeeper after Sunday Seah, also of FC Kochin, who continues to be on the second spot, to score in this NFL.

Kochin now hold the record for the unbeaten run starting from the first match. They beat Air-India's record of 11, set in the second NFL.

Meanwhile, league-toppers East Bengal, who have been on top for six round now, escaped with a hard-fought draw against Mahindra United in Mumbai. Coach Manoranjan Bhattacharjee was quite worried about Shabbir Ali and his boys, especially for this away tie. And his fears did not prove to be unfounded as the jeepmen played percentage football and only a little bad luck and the metal work saw them not getting full points. The win here would have got the side some confidence as they go on to play four consecutive away matches.

Defending and two-time champions Mohun Bagan, like Tollygunge Aggragami, should consider themselves lucky not to have got full points against Churchill Bros. They were leading 2-0, with R C Prakash scoring his eighth goal, but coach Subroto Bhattacharjee saw his wards lose focus in the second half and allow the Goan champions to equalize. Jose Colaco got the second equalizer with a brilliant overhead volley.

Churchill, after their loss to Mahindra United in Bombay in the eighth round, have attained a fair degree of consistency as they have won and drawn two each in the next four rounds. And at 16 points they are quite close to breaking into the top league.

Both Air-India and JCT coaches, Bimal Ghosh and Sukhwinder Singh, respectively, are thanking their stars for getting one point from the drawn encounter in Bombay. Ghosh, for he did not want to lose to a bottom-placed team, and Sukhwinder, who did not want to lose again after a 3-4 result at home. While Tollygunge holding FC Kochin to a draw was a good result for JCT, SBT’s shock win over Salgaocar now sees JCTt at the bottom of the 12-team league.

The other team in single-digit points, Indian Telephone Industries, also played out an exciting goalless draw against Vasco in Bangalore.

Best goal: Churchill Brothers' Jose Colaco hitting an overhead volley against Mohun Bagan.

Best match: SBT beating Salgaocar 2-0 at Thiruvananthapuram.

Disappointment: Mahindra United and Air-India not able to keep their 11th round momentum.

Great Escape: FC Kochin getting an equalizer in added-on time against Tollygunge in a home match.

Results of the 12th round:

Air-India drew with JCT 0-0 at Bombay
Mohun Bagan drew with Churchill 2-2 at Calcutta
FC Kochin drew with Tollygunge Aggragami 1-1 at Kochi;
Mahindra United drew with East Bengal 0-0 at Bombay
Air-India drew with JCT 0-0 at Bombay
ITI drew with Vasco 0-0 in Bangalore.

Related reports:
FC Kochin lead National Football League race
F C Kochin stay ahead
Salgaocar close in on early leaders
Mohun Bagan well-placed after five rounds
Air India, Mahindra in a spot - Summary of Round 6
East Bengal high in the saddle - Summary of Round 7
East Bengal on top for second week - Summary of Round 8
Three in close race - Summary of Round 9
Prakash's hat-trick high point of Round 10
Bungo Singh, R C Prakash steal the limelight