Air India wins a thriller to lift RCF Nadkarni Cup title

by Siddharth Yadav February 18, 2018

18th February 2018, Mumbai: Air India produced a sensational comeback in the dying moments of the match to edge past Union Bank of India (UBI) 2-1 in the 111th RCF Nadkarni Cup final at RCF Ground (Chembur) on Sunday evening. With this triumph, Air India has successfully defended their title.

Right from the beginning. Air India looked dangerous and more comfortable on the ball than Union Bank of India. But, unfortunately, they couldn’t manage to be clinical in front of goal for the majority of the match. In the first-half itself, they struck the post a couple of times.

Both the sides didn’t manage to take their opportunities as they went into the break without scoring a goal. In the second-half, Union Bank of India raised their intensity and started to bother Air India’s backline. Substitute Sameer Swamy made a huge impact after coming on for UBI as it was him in the 65th minute who got fouled inside the box by Arvind Raj which earned UBI a penalty.

Scott D’Souza stepped up and calmly converted his penalty to put UBI’s noses in front. Here within, the whole course of the game changed. The pace and intensity of the final drastically increased. UBI pushed forward in hope to double their while Air India was under huge pressure as the time was running out.

A couple of minutes later, Scott could have doubled the lead when Ranjeet Pandre set up him with a delicate pass. But Scott’s powerful attempt whispered past the post which could have surely sealed the final had it gone in. UBI’s missed chances became Air India’s gain.

Coach Godfred Pereira introduced Vijith Shetty in the last fifteen minutes who went on to play a crucial role in turning around the match. The experienced midfielder’s presence boosted Air India as the defending champions firmly took control of the game. The patience paid off when Rinaldo Fernandes’ well-timed cross from the right flank was beautifully headed past UBI’s goalkeeper Prathamesh Baban by Vinod Pandey in the 87th minute.

Suddenly, UBI was on the back foot. After holding their counterpart for almost the whole match, UBI started to crumble after conceding the equalizer. With the match heading towards a nervy penalty shootout, it was Rinaldo Fernandes’ moment of brilliance in the fourth minute of stoppage time when he danced past UBI’s defense to score a spectacular solo goal to win it for Air India.

The former Mumbai Customs’ striker was undoubtedly the best player on the field yesterday. Meanwhile, UBI was left to wonder how they didn’t manage to beat Air India after coming so close to lift the trophy. Nevertheless, it was the first time this season where Air India was taken to the edge by a team. Credits must go to UBI for holding Air India for almost the whole match.

UBI’s striker Ranjeet Pandre, for his wonderful performance throughout the campaign, received the best player of the tournament award. Surely, a final which would be remembered for years.