I-League - Round 16: Loads of draws

The sixteenth Round of matches of the I-League 2010/11 were played on February 25, 26 & 27 across India.


Round 16 Match by Match Short Review
26-Feb-2011: Indian Arrows 1-1 (1-1) East Bengal Club (in Gurgaon)
Indian Arrows held their famed rivals East Bengal Club to a one-all draw in Gurgaon with the red-and-gold only themselves to blame for not taking home the three points. The India Juniors took a surprise early lead through Ongnam Milan Singh, but it was egalised by Reisangmei Vashum soon. Thereafter the Kolkata side had their chances, but Indian Arrows stood their ground and earned a deserving point.

27-Feb-2011: Air India 1-1 (1-1) Chirag United SC (in Kolhapur)
Air India held Chirag United SC to a one-all draw in their I-League match in Kolhapur. The Kolkata side took an early seventh minute lead through a lovely Subhas Chakraborty strike, but in the 36th minute Nigerian Okorogor Nnabuike Praise headed in the equaliser for the Airmen. It remained this way until the end as Chirag United couldn't break down the Air India defence.

26-Feb-2011: Pune FC 4-4 (4-1) Viva Kerala (in Pune)
Pune FC were held to a four-all draw by Viva Kerala in a match which PFC seemed to have already won as they were leading 4-0 by the 37th minute, but the Kerala side made an incredible comeback to get one point from the match. Pune FC looked to be heading for a comprehensive victory after goals from Brazilian Edmar Figueira (3rd), Gurjinder Kumar Singh (19th), Mandjou Keita (25th) and Shanmugham Venkatesh (37th); but a goal from P.K. Anil Kumar gave a lifeline to Viva Kerala. Two quick goals after the restart through Bello Rasaq and Felix Chimaokwu suddenly opened up the game with chances on both sides, but it was Viva Kerala through P.K. Anil Kumar who got the equaliser.

26-Feb-2011: Mohun Bagan AC 0-0 Churchill Brothers SC (in Kolkata)
In a match of former champions Mohun Bagan AC have only themselves to blame for not winning against Churchill Brothers SC at the Saltlake Stadium. The green-and-maroon had numerous scoring oppurtunities but either their finishing wasn't up to the mark or a Churchill Brothers player was there to avert the danger.

25-Feb-2011: JCT 1-2 (1-1) Dempo SC (in Gurgaon)
I-League champions maintained the pressure on the league's top three with a 2-1 away win against JCT. But the Punjab side took an early 13th minute lead through a Gurtej Singh goal after a mistake from Subhashish Roy Chowdhury. But Dempo have the quality to come back and it was Ranty Martins Soleye who equalised just before the half hour. When it seemed the match is heading for a draw Roberto Mendes Silva scored the winner for the Goans to take home all points.

27-Feb-2011: HAL, Bangalore 1-0 (0-0) Mumbai FC (in Bangalore)
HAL kept the points in Bangalore with a lone goal victory against Mumbai FC. The Airmen were the better of the two sides on display and the winning goal came of striker Malemngamba Meetei in the 75th minute to keep all the points in Bangalore.

27-Feb-2011: Salgaocar SC 5-0 (2-0) ONGC (in Goa)
Salgaocar SC continued their impressive run in the I-League with a 5-0 trashing of now bottom of the league ONGC. The Oilmen just couldn't stop the barrage of attacks from the Goans. Yakubu Yusif opened the scoring before Gilbert Oliveira doubled the lead before the break. Gilbert made it 3-0 after the breather before Japanese Ryuji Sueoka added a fourth. Yakubu would end the scoring with his second and the teams fifth goal of the afternoon.


Click here for the 4th I-League 2010/11 - League Table & Fixtures .