Air India sinks UBI to go top of Elite Division

by Siddharth Yadav December 22, 2017

22nd December 2017, Mumbai: Air India put up a great display as they thumped in-form Union Bank of India (UBI) 3-0 at Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri to go top of the MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) Elite Division table on Friday evening. UBI was left shell-shocked after the final whistle as they failed to threaten an organised Air India’s side.

Air India kept their 100 percent record intact today with their fourth straight win of the season. Prior to the game, it was UBI at the top of Elite Division table after a great run of form so far this season. They struggled to create clear-cut chances against Air India which came back to haunt them as they suffered their first loss of the season.

It took Air India only a minute to open the scoring when Captain Vijith Shetty’s sublime free-kick was put in the back of the net by Ashkar CV after a mix-up in the penalty box. Conceding early broke UBI’s momentum as they never managed to come back into the game.

Air India’s organised defense of Anuraj Siddhu, Tejas Raut, Pramod Pandey and Santosh Koli guarded the attacking-third brilliantly without any consequences. The midfield of Vijith Shetty and Elvis Rodrigues was outstanding as they dictated the play and linked-up brilliantly with defense and as well as with attack.

The second goal came after the half-an-hour mark when Elvis and Amey Bhatkal combined superbly to set-up Santosh Koli who sliced his effort past everyone to double Air India’s lead. Things would have got worse for UBI when a howler from goalkeeper Ismail gave Pratik Koli a huge opportunity to wrap-up the game but Koli’s outstanding effort from outside the box was cleared off the line by Ismail himself, who rushed back to his position to deny Koli’s effort.

Although at the start of the second-half, Ismail once again committed an error at the edge of the box, but this time a prowling Pratik Koli made sure his effort ends up in the back of the net. After the introduction of Bryce Miranda, UBI looked threatening as along with Valentine Pereira, Dion Menezes, UBI kept attacking to cut short the deficit. But Air India’s backline stood firm and strong as they cruised to their fourth straight victory of the Elite Division campaign.