The under-19 I-League Rest of India Group A started with a couple of contrasting draws as no side could claim advantage at the Ambedkar Stadium on Sunday. Lonestar Kashmir FC and Tata Football Academy will be a tad disappointed but neither side experienced a hugely adverse result.
TFA, however, failed to convert a host of chances against a resolute Hindustan side. The defending champion bossed possession and tested the home side but to no avail.
The goals were limited to the earlier encounter in the day. Kashmir’s head coach Hilal Paray fairly reckoned his side could have scored more in its 2-2 draw. Yet, the moments in which the side conceded were strange too. The goals for Bengaluru came when it seemed the unlikeliest prospect.
Perhaps, it was down to Kashmir’s inexperience. After all, this was the club’s first ever competitive match.
Yet, by the 16th minute, Kashmir had its maiden goalscorer. Wasiq Wani dashed into the box from the left and ran until the byline before laying the ball off for Assrar Mohammed to flick home from six yards.
Wani’s intervention wasn’t surprising as his display was the highest point for his side. Starting just behind the striker, he drifted into wide pockets to cause consternation to the Bengaluru defence. Wani was complemented by Mohammed Uneeb, who adeptly played the role of a midfield runner. Uneeb constantly drove forward to ensure there was no numerical shortfall in the final third.
Bengaluru took a while to get to grips with the opposition’s quick and strong movement. Its cause was hurt further by frequently misplaced passes from the back.
With the goal in hand, Kashmir acquired a deeper position and employed long balls over the opposition defence to attack. But the approach was to no avail.
In fact, Bengaluru equalised with the interval imminent. Midway through the half, Mani Vannan had been moved to the right from his central position. It meant that he was able to outwit Kashmir’s left-back Faisal Thakur on almost every occasion he attempted go past him.
Just before half time, Vannan went into the box again and put a seemingly innocuous ball into the six-yard box. However, ‘keeper Shabir Hussain made a hash of it and left Nirnair Naik with the simplest of tap-ins.
The goal seemed to take some energy out of the match. Both sides returned after the interval with hesitancy underlining their play.
Not until the last 15 minutes did the match come to life again. Once again, Kashmir seized the initiative as a number of attempts missed the goal. Yet, against the run of play, the next goal belonged to Bengaluru. Vannan was put through by a clever through ball and he released it at the right moment to beat the onrushing ‘keeper. The ball bounced merrily into the far corner.
Kashmir was stung, but not beaten. Parity was restored five minutes later when Wani lobbed the ball over goalkeeper S. Srijith from the corner of the box. Albeit a bit speculative, it was an effort that landed in goal.
A minute later, Srijith’s match went from bad to worse when he picked up a second booking for a rash tackle on Wani. Kashmir was emboldened but couldn’t find the solution for a third goal.
The results: Lonestar Kashmir FC 2 (Assrar Mohamed 16, Wasiq Wani 87) drew with Bengaluru FC 2 (Nirnair Naik 45, Mani Vannan 82); Hindustan FC 0 drew with Tata Football Academy 0.
