NAIHATI (WB), Apr 19: Captain Mason Robertson scored in the seventh minute of added time to help Real Kashmir escape with a 1-1 draw and deny TRAU victory in the final match of phase one in the I-League here on Tuesday.
Robertson was aided by defender Ponif Vaz, restoring parity in the final minute of the game.
The game had 0-0 written all over it till the 87th minute when Fernandinho opened the account for TRAU with what seemed like a winning goal. Real Kashmir did not stay quiet as they grabbed the equaliser via their captain.
Real Kashmir almost got their noses in front inside five minutes. Ragav Gupta lobbed the ball into the box for Kouassi Bernard, whose header beat keeper Amrit Gope but the ball was cleared off the line by TRAU skipper Helder Lobato.
The defender was on his toes again just after a couple of minutes to halt another goal-scoring opportunity for which he was booked.
TRAU had an opportunity after good build-up play down the left. Krishnananda Singh slid the ball through to Kishan Singh who was on an overlapping run. The low cross came in and eventually fell to Fernandinho who was unable to keep his strike on target.
The next attack down the left saw Fayazuddin whipping a good looking cross towards Salam Johnson Singh, but the striker could not convert it.
A crucial and well-timed tackle by Ponif Vaz, midway through the first half, disallowed Khanngam Horam to get a shot away after being put clean through on goal by Fernandinho.
After a series of TRAU attacks, Real Kashmir charged forward. Ragav Gupta played a beautiful ball towards Kouassi Bernard. The ball came off Gérard Williams’ head and fell to Bernard as the striker went past the keeper but still could not score as he struck the post.
The second half started exactly the way the first one ended. Fernandinho danced past his marker and attempted to curl his effort into the far post.
However, Kumar was quick enough to dive right, get a hand on it and palm it out for a corner. The skippers came together in TRAU’s penalty area when Mason Robertson was halted by Helder Ribeiro. The defences of both sides were on top.
Sudeva Delhi pip Kenkre 1-0
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A deflected goal by Shubho Paul helped Sudeva Delhi FC eke out a narrow 1-0 win over Kenkre FC on the final matchday of phase one.
Sudeva drew first blood as the ball fell to Shubho Paul inside the box and the youngster struck it firmly and saw it ripple the back of the net after picking up a slight deflection off Nongkhlow in the 13th minute.
Gokulam Kerala FC beat RoundGlass Punjab FC 3-1
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Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC defeated RoundGlass Punjab 3-1 at the Kalyani Stadium.
In the 13th minute, Gokulam Kerala took the lead through Bouba Aminou, who scored with a header from a corner-kick opportunity.
The leveller came in the 48th minute as Kean Lewis’ delivery from a corner-kick caused havoc in the penalty area and headed into his own net by Bouba.
Gokulam Kerala regained the lead in the 63rd minute through Luka Majcen. The score became 1-3 in the 72nd minute after Josef Yarney inadvertently turned a cross into a goal from close range. (PTI)
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