Air India makes it two wins in a row

by Siddharth Yadav October 17, 2017

16th October 2017, Mumbai: Mumbai football’s giants Air India once against displayed a gritty and determined performance to edge Central Bank of India (CBI) 2-1 in an anticipating MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) Elite Division clash at Cooperage Stadium on Monday evening.

Although it was Central Bank of India (CBI) who opened the scoring through Kuldeep Maschi, the mighty Air India responded brilliantly to score two first-half goals to register consecutive wins in the ongoing Elite Division campaign.

Air India came in the match on the back of a comprehensive 8-1 win over Mumbai Strikers. Despite Rinaldo Fernandes absence from the squad yesterday, Godfred Pereira’s side made sure to hold their nerves against an energetic CBI side.

In the 8th minute of the match, Air India’s Pramod Pandey handled the ball in the penalty area which gave CBI a huge opportunity to open the scoring. Defender Kuldeep Maschi stepped up and comfortably placed his effort in the back of the net.

Air India responded in their very own style as experience defender Santosh Koli levelled the score midway into the first-half with a looping header. A few minutes later, Air India scored again and swiftly took a cushion lead.

Aaron D’Costa found Pratik Koli across the goal who tapped in from close range to give Air India a 2-1 lead. The second-half saw Air India defending for their lives to hold their solitary lead. New signing Tejas Raut, a lanky defender, was brought in to shield Air India’s goal.

Amey Bhatkal was also introduced late in the second-half who had a wonderful time up front against CBI’s defenders. Twisting and Turning in, the young player displayed an impressive performance which left CBI’s defenders in a worry.

After this win, Air India is comfortably sitting at the top with six points in two games with a staggering goal difference of +8. As for CBI, they performed quite well against an organised Air India side and they should take away positives from the match.