I-League 2015/16: Injury time goal from Malsawmtluanga denies Salgaocar first win
An injury time penalty from Malsawmtluanga denied Salgaocar’s hopes of a first win under new coach Santosh Kashyap as the match against newcomers Aizawl FC ended 1-1 at Goa today. Striker Darryl Duffy had put the home side ahead in the 44th minute to guide them towards a win before Reagan Singh’s madness ended home team’s hopes.
Starting Lineups:
Salgaocar: Karanjit (GK), Reagan, Gurjinder, Colaco, Lenny, Alesh, Rocus, Thangjam, Jackichand, Saityasen, Duffy
Aizawl: Anganba, Lalramchullova, Lalruatthara, Lalchhawnkima, Ricky Lallawmawma, David Lalbiakthanga, Yuta Kinowaki, Lalbiakhlua, Malsawmtluanga, F. Lalrinpuia, Yonezawa.
Four back-to-back losses for the home team made Malky Thomson the first managerial casualty of the season. Former Royal Wahingdoh coach Santosh Kashyap replaced him for the match against newcomers Aizawl FC. The gaffer made four changes to the XI that went down 0-1 against Shillong Lajong and brought in Eder, Kennan Almeida, Augustin Fernandes and A. Oliviera for Nicolau Colaco, L Periera, Alesh Sawant and Thangjam Singh.
Aizawl also made four changes to the XI that suffered a 0-2 defeat at home against Sporting Club de Goa with Zothanmawia, Lalrinmuana, Vanlalremdika and Jaryan making way for Anganba, Lalbiakthanga, Malsawmtluanga and Yonezawa.
Salgaocar looked desperate for a win from the start. With a new man running the shots in the dugout, the home team’s players looked rejuvenated after a lifeless performance in the first four matches. Under his former manager Santosh Kashyap, Jackichand Singh seemed more confident making multiple runs exchanging one-to-one passes with Darryl Duffy to perplex the Aizawl defence.
Surprisingly, Aizawl, who have produced spirited attacking displays in their I-League campaign, chose to sit back and soak up the pressure than going on the front foot by attacking the home team. The goal looked a certainty from the start with Salgaocar dominating the attacks, and it eventually arrived right before the half-time break with Duffy opening the scoring. A long ball from left back Gurjinder found Duffy alone in the box, and the Scotsman calmly slotted it past Soram in the goal.
Trailing 1-0, Aizawl coach Manuel Retamero brought on striker Brandon Vanlalremdika for Japanese forward Atsushi Yonezawa in search of the equaliser. However, change in personnel did not change the fortunes of the away side with Salgaocar continuing their domination in the attacking third. Aizawl also threw Alfred Jaryan and David Lalrinmuana into the mix to find a goal, but the Salgaocar defence had an easy outing with Karanjit Singh being rarely tested.
With the match slowly drifting towards a win for the home side, a moment of madness from Reagan Singh in the Salgaocar defence in the 90th minute brought the curtains on what would have been a debut win for the new gaffer. The referee pointed to the spot after Reagan brought down Jaryan in the box, and Malsawmtluanga stepped up and calmly put it past Karanjit Singh to break the hearts of the home fans. With no time for more action, both teams settled for a point with Aizawl being the happy side after an injury time equaliser.