Chirag United held by Indian Arrows in I-League

GURGAON - Chirag United were held goalless by Indian Arrows in the 14th round of the football I-League here Friday.

It turned out to be a drab encounter, barring a few exciting moments from the Indian Arrows at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex. With the draw, Chirag are now seventh in the 14-team league with 19 points while Indian Arrows are 10th with 14 points. Chirag had won 2-1 in their earlier meeting in Kolkata.

Chirag’s foreign imports Josimar Martins and Junior Elijah failed to get past the Indian Arrows defence and when they got a chance Josimar’s header found the post in the 59th minute.

In the first half, none of the teams showed their intent to score goals. While Indian Arrows were happy playing the long balls, missed passes cost the Kolkata team.

The Arrows came close in the 13th minute, but Jibon Singh shot was wayward and just before the breather striker Malswam Fela’s went past the bar.

In the second half, Indian Arrows, coached by Englishman Desmond Bulpin, came out with a better strategy. But lack of experience of a finisher couldn’t help them. In the last minute, Jewel Raja’s left-footer from the top of the box kissed the bar on its way out as Indian Arrows maintained their undefeated record in their home ground.

Bulpin admitted that finishing is a problem for his team.

“We are not able to finish well because we don’t have experienced players in our side. The boys are young and they will mature with age. Today we should have got full points from this match. This was very disappointing,” he said.

Chirag coach Subrata Bhattacharya, a former India international, was also unhappy with the performance of his team and is waiting for striker Sunil Chettri to join them. The India striker, who was released by Kansas City, will be turning out for the Kolkata team for the remaining stages of the I-League.

“We missed a player, who could have hold the midfield. I think Sunil’s presence will turn around things for us. We have also recruited South Korean midfielder Choi Young and the I have high expectations from him,” he said.

Teams:

Indian Arrows: Jagroop Singh (goalkeeper), Inderpreet Singh, Vishal Kumar, Lalrozama Fena, Abhishek Das, Shilton D’Silva, Jibon Singh, Jewel Raja Sheikh, Jeje Lalpeklua, Malswam Fela, Lalrindika Ralte

Chirag United: Somnath Khara (goalkeeper), Anupam Sarkar, Chika Wali, Naru Gopal Hait, Arnab Mondal, Shylo Malswamtluanga, Denson Devadas, Subhas Chakraborty, Junior Elijah, Josimar Martins

Referee: Vikramjit