Airmen held to a draw

by Leslie FERNANDO

FOOTBALL: Air Force did well to hold the table leaders Renown SC to 1-all draw in their Group 'A' match of the Dialog Champion League soccer match played at the City Football league grounds yesterday.

Both sides earned a point each and Renown SC roared to the top with 17 points to Airmen's 16 points.

After 16 minutes of play M.N.M. Fazal put Renown SC in the lead when he was fed off a cross pass from M. Rizwan and chopped the ball in beating the Air Force custodian.

Renown SC maintained the lead until the half time.

After the break Air Force strikers combined effectively and scored the equaliser in the 17th minute when unmarked Sanju Shanmugaraj headed in perfectly off a fine cross from Safraz Nawaz from the right flank.

Renown SC who struck the opener lacked the same style of paly in the second session. Their strikers either fumbled with the ball or kicked wide. On the other hand Air Force team showed improvement in their tactical approach compared to their opponents. Both sides failed to score the winning goal due to lack of methodical game plan.

It should be noted that none of the FFSL selectors were present for this key game to spot the talent. The writer has covered several games at this venues and it is a pity no selectors were present for none of these matches. Over to the Competition Committee members and the key figure of the FFSL Manilal Fernando for their consideration on this very important issue.

Referee: N. Rubesh.