Despite HDFC’s two-goal lead in the first-half Railways fought back in the second to clinch a draw.

HDFC opened the scoring as Prakyath Shetty scored off a penalty in the 26th minute.

They scored again when Sherwin Gonsalves smashed home a superb shot in the 35th minute.

But Railways didn’t give up as they pressed on to get a goal before half-time.

Shabaz Pathan’s superb sliding tackle to dispossess HDFC’s Jayesh Naik was proof of Railways’ resilience!

The first-half ended 2-0 in HDFC’s favor.

Come the second-half and Railways’ persistence paid off with a penalty for handball in the 53rd minute.

Pathan made no mistake from the spot as he slammed home a powerful shot to make it 2-2.

Railways defended stoutly to frustrate HDFC in the later stages.

And as Akshay Kamble’s shot from the left swung into goal in the 70th minute…the comeback was complete!

Naik made a solo run into the Railways area in the dying minutes but could only shoot wide from the edge of the box.

The 2-2 draw was as good as a win for Railways!

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Of course, Rinaldo Fernandes – the Robin to Dias’ Batman   — also impressed with his pace, work-rate, and dribbling. The warning signs were there for Railways when their goalkeeper made a hash of a clearance early in the first half. And they did concede when Dias smashed home a free kick in the 12th minute. It was one-way traffic as Air India went into offensive mode!

The second goal came when Scott D’Souza hit home a low free kick in the 25th minute. Also, Fernandes’ clever dummy during the free kick ritual caught the eye! Of course, his slaloming runs from the left flank had the Railways defenders in disarray. One such run allowed him to cross to Sumesh Nair who scored the third goal in the 30th minute.

As the first-half ended…Railways looked down and out! Come the second-half and Air India persisted with a high-pressing and attacking game. And it paid off when Dias tapped home a rebound in the 56th minute after the Railways defenders had failed to clear a cross. Railways did get a consolation goal when Chetan Waghela scored off a header in the 73th minute.

And as Dias glanced home the fifth goal in the 75th minute…it proved to be the icing on the cake! Dias’ finishing and Fernandes’ bull-terrier-like approach made the difference for Air India.

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The game was heading for a dull goalless draw before Raju Meetei struck gold for RCF deep into stoppage time. Both, RCF and Central Railways were looking to bounce back from defeats in their respective last games in the Elite Division. Central Railways were thrashed by Union Bank of India by a margin of 4-0, while RCF narrowly went down to PIFA Colaba by a more respectable margin of 4-3.

The game started slowly with both teams struggling to create good chances to score. RCF slowly started to have more of the ball, but they had to wait upto 15 minutes for their first attempt of any note, whem Angampu headed over from a Nishant Rana cross.

RCF continued to dominate the ball, but failed to work Pradeep Kumar who was in goal for Central Railways. Their best opportunity of the half came in the 29th minute when, Nishant Rana did brilliantly to get on the end of a cleared header to cut back for Kevin Patrick who fired his shot over the crossbar.

Central Railways won a free kick in a promising position in the 40th minute, but failed to make it count as RCF were able to clear the danger. RCF’s Sidhu Singh headed wide from a corner in the second minute of stoppage time, before the referee signaled for half time.
RCF had more of the ball, but Central Railways were successful in keeping them at bay and it was clear that RCF needed to up the intensity if they were to grab the three points.

The second half had a similar pattern as RCF saw more of the ball without threatening the Central Raiways goal. RCF replaced Kevin Patrick with Gadam in the 71st minute, hoping to spark life into what was panning out to be a very dull game of football.

Two minutes later, the RCF substitute chested down a cross in Raju Meetei’s path, who shot at the Central Railways goal but the sting of the shot was taken away thanks to a block allowing Pradeep Kumar to collect comfortably.
Central Railways who were having a slightly better second half came close to taking the lead in the 80th minute after a well strung move resulted in Central Railway substitute Gagan S. shooting goalwards, but his shot was straight at the RCF goalkeeper Vikram Singh.

But deep into the 4th minute of stoppage time RCF found a way through as Ashish Dawarkar delivered a delicious cross into the box which was headed home by Raju Meetei to send the RCF bench into delirium.

RCF managed to grind out a victory on a day when they were clearly not at their best. It was a cruel blow for Central Railways to concede so late, but it was a game where they hardly offered anything.

It was a very dull game overall with its brightest spot coming right at the end as Raju Meetei’s stoppage time strike earned RCF the points.

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The game started brightly as both sides had efforts, neither of which troubled either goal keepers. The first real chance of the game fell Companeroes’ way as Nikhil Pal was in acres of space after he was found by a low cross from the right flank. But his shot was bravely saved by the Central Railways’ goalkeeper Pradeep Kumar in the 16th minute.

Central Railways nearly profited from a confusion between Companeroes’ goalkeeper Vatsal Bhatia and defender Umair Shiakh, as the both collided. But luckily for the duo, the ball rolled wide.

Companeroes just edged the possession but in terms of chances, the game was very even.

The teams went into half time deadlocked. It was a very even game with very few chances as the day’s tradition of a penalty shootout as the game decider was looking likely to continue.

But the second half exactly the opposite as Companeroes took the lead in the very first minute of the second period. Substitute Shabaz Khan nicely controlled a cross from Fazil Sheikh after goalkeeper failed to collect it and slotted home neatly to send the Companeroes’ camp celebrating.

Central Railways reacted with a change bringing on Arun E.K for Chetan Waghela in the 36th minute. They were rewarded three minutes later as Sumesh Nair was found in acres of space in front of the goal after he picked up a cross from the left flank as he finished in the top right hand side of the goal, to pull Central Railways level. The Companeroes’ keeper could have done better.

The game was sparked into life with two quick fire goals, but there were to be more as Central Railways turned it around two minutes later as Shafique P. profited from a mix-up in the Companeroes’ defence to coolly fire past Vatsal Bhatia who was partner in crime yet again.

His woes were compounded as Central Railways got another one a minute later, with Shafique P. scoring again after he drove at the Companeroes’ defence to hit his shot past the helpless Vatsal Bhatia to make it 3-1.

Vatsal Bhatia was relieved of his misery as he was taken off in the 47th minute. Two minutes later, Shafique P. who was looking for his hat-trick danced his way through the Companeroes’ defence but could not beat the new goalkeeper.

Central Railways were enjoying great support from their supporters as they had a little contingent who had made their way to the RCF Sports Complex to cheer their team.

Those three quick goals had knocked the stuffing out of Companeroes as Central Railways were pretty much in control. Nikhil Pal nearly ensured a grand stand finish when he shot over from close range. It was a great chance wasted to pull a goal back.

The missed chance got all the more glaring when Companeroes were awarded a penalty in stoppage time which Shabaz Khan put away to make it 3-2. But it proved to be a mere consolation for Companeroes as referee blew for full time just after the restart.

Central Railways quick fire goals were enough to secure a quarter final berth as Companeroes were left wondering what might have been. Central Railways will play the winner of Bhilai Brothers and Kenkre FC game on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Great Mother F.C, Premier Indian Football Academy Colaba and Western Railways sealed their passage through to the Quarter Finals through the route of penalty shootout at the expense of hosts RCF S.C, Mumbai Customs and KSA respectively.

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