By IANS
Margao : Sporting Clube de Goa grabbed their first win in the I-League football Saturday, but their 1-0 win over Air India was not entirely convincing.
At Goa’s Nehru Stadium, Air India goal-keeper Raju Ekka’s blunder enabled Sporting Clube to collect full points and breathe easy, though just a bit. But, the story of the day was neither Ekka’s error nor Sporting Clube’s first win.
Two Air India players – Samson Singh and Uttam Singh – were controversially sent off as the visitors finished the match with only nine players for the first time in almost a decade.
And if the controversial sending offs were not enough, Sporting Clube scored from a free kick that was never theirs.
The 40th minute move that resulted in the free kick should not have been started in the first place as Air India had the right on the ball as part of fair play.
But Sporting Clube, desperate to grab a win, refused to pass the ball to Air India and instead launched a ferocious counter-attack when airlines’ defenders were simply not ready.
Uttam Singh was left with no choice but to commit a foul against Elijah on top of the ‘box’. And to add to Air India’s miseries, the normally reliable Ekka allowed the harmless Elijah free kick to sail into the goal, perhaps blinded by the sun in his eyes.
Sporting Clube led 1-0 at the breather, but Air India were never out of the game.
The visitors started the second session in right earnest, though captain Bashiru Abbas was off-colour and failed to convert chances from handshaking distances.
Air India were reduced to 10 men when Samson Singh was sent off by referee Dinesh Nair for stamping Sporting Clube captain Wilton Gomes.
Though the incident was off-ball, the referee’s decision seemed to have been heavily influenced by Wilton’s theatrics.
Despite being down by a goal, and a player less, Air India continued to look for the equaliser. Coach Bimal Ghosh even switched to an attacking formation, but a goal remained elusive.
Air India were dealt another body blow 10 minutes from close when defender Uttam Singh was sent off for a debatable second booking.
Sporting Clube, meanwhile, got several chances to kill the match with a second goal, but their strikers, most notably Nigerian striker Olushola Ogundare, faltered in front of the goal.