<p>Despite their third successive draw, the Aircraftmen continue to lead the table with six points from four matches while State Bank of Travancore opened their points tally with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chandni FC. <br /><br />Kochi side Chandni, who needed a win to displace HASC from top of the table, share the second spot with Malabar (five points) — the former having played an extra game.<br />Lack of co-ordination among the three components -- defence, mid-field and attack -- hurt both HASC and Malabar in their match. This resulted in both the teams losing possession quickly and spraying the ball all over, eventually serving out a sordid affair much to the dismay of fans.<br /><br />The displeasure among the home crowd was quite evident when HASC captain Xavier Vijay Kumar was booed after he allowed a ball slip between his legs towards the fag end of the match. Xavier, usually a vibrant spirit, appeared a shadow of his best while his strike partner Frederick Okwagbe from Nigeria was below par once again. With playmaker Satish Kumar Jr also having a sub-par day, they lacked quality in moves. <br />Malabar marched into the lead in the 15th minute, perhaps with the only moment of brilliance the contest produced. Vijesh Kumar PU sent a defence-splitting pass from the left and Jacken Sebastian ran forward to trap it before the lobbing the ball over advancing goalkeeper Amar Deb into the net.<br /><br />Okwagbe equalised for HASC in the 32nd minute when Malabar custodian Jaafar fumbled with Joseph Femi Adeola’s header off Xavier’s corner kick, and the Nigerian import made a regulation tap-in from point blank. However, Okwagbe missed a great chance to seal victory in the final minute when he shot straight at the hands of Jaafar, despite being unmarked and having enough time to pick his spot.<br /><br />SBT win<br /><br />SBT, who have lost their opening two matches, produced a commanding second-half performance to edge their Kozhikode rivals. After missing a slew of chances, Mohammed Aslam headed in sharply off Abdul Noushad’s corner kick in the 74th minute.<br /><br /><br />Results: Group B: At New Delhi: SESA Football Academy: 4 (Marcus Mascherenhas 10th, Jaiganseh Goltekar 40th, Inacio Colaco 46th, Israil Gurung 86th) bt New Delhi Heroes: 2 (Jiten Rai 48th, Baba Tunde 90th); Simla Youngs FC Delhi: 1 (Ugochukwu 64th) bt Indian National: 0. Group C: At Tinsukia: Ar-Hima: 0 lt to Oil India: 3 (HL Routa 38th, Jayanta Basumatry 42nd, Adekunle O Whheed 81st). At Digboi: Denzong Boys: 0 lt to JCB, Bhilai: 4 (Emmanuel Ini 24th, 71st, 76th, Ramchandra Murmu 29th).</p>
<p>Despite their third successive draw, the Aircraftmen continue to lead the table with six points from four matches while State Bank of Travancore opened their points tally with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chandni FC. <br /><br />Kochi side Chandni, who needed a win to displace HASC from top of the table, share the second spot with Malabar (five points) — the former having played an extra game.<br />Lack of co-ordination among the three components -- defence, mid-field and attack -- hurt both HASC and Malabar in their match. This resulted in both the teams losing possession quickly and spraying the ball all over, eventually serving out a sordid affair much to the dismay of fans.<br /><br />The displeasure among the home crowd was quite evident when HASC captain Xavier Vijay Kumar was booed after he allowed a ball slip between his legs towards the fag end of the match. Xavier, usually a vibrant spirit, appeared a shadow of his best while his strike partner Frederick Okwagbe from Nigeria was below par once again. With playmaker Satish Kumar Jr also having a sub-par day, they lacked quality in moves. <br />Malabar marched into the lead in the 15th minute, perhaps with the only moment of brilliance the contest produced. Vijesh Kumar PU sent a defence-splitting pass from the left and Jacken Sebastian ran forward to trap it before the lobbing the ball over advancing goalkeeper Amar Deb into the net.<br /><br />Okwagbe equalised for HASC in the 32nd minute when Malabar custodian Jaafar fumbled with Joseph Femi Adeola’s header off Xavier’s corner kick, and the Nigerian import made a regulation tap-in from point blank. However, Okwagbe missed a great chance to seal victory in the final minute when he shot straight at the hands of Jaafar, despite being unmarked and having enough time to pick his spot.<br /><br />SBT win<br /><br />SBT, who have lost their opening two matches, produced a commanding second-half performance to edge their Kozhikode rivals. After missing a slew of chances, Mohammed Aslam headed in sharply off Abdul Noushad’s corner kick in the 74th minute.<br /><br /><br />Results: Group B: At New Delhi: SESA Football Academy: 4 (Marcus Mascherenhas 10th, Jaiganseh Goltekar 40th, Inacio Colaco 46th, Israil Gurung 86th) bt New Delhi Heroes: 2 (Jiten Rai 48th, Baba Tunde 90th); Simla Youngs FC Delhi: 1 (Ugochukwu 64th) bt Indian National: 0. Group C: At Tinsukia: Ar-Hima: 0 lt to Oil India: 3 (HL Routa 38th, Jayanta Basumatry 42nd, Adekunle O Whheed 81st). At Digboi: Denzong Boys: 0 lt to JCB, Bhilai: 4 (Emmanuel Ini 24th, 71st, 76th, Ramchandra Murmu 29th).</p>
