By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: It was the brilliant individual effort of Boithang Haokip that saved Shillong Lajong FC from defeat as they managed to hold Air India to a 1-1 draw in an I-League match in Pune on Sunday.
Haokip’s 85th minute effort cancelled out the 69th minute goal from Air India’s Souvik Chakraborty in a match where little separated the two sides.
Chakraborty received a long throw from Vijith Shetty that landed straight in front of the unmarked winger and he made no mistake to head the ball in.
But it all changed when substitute Boithang Haokip collected the ball from midfield and ran down the flanks.
What followed was an display of individual brilliance as the nimble-footed Haokip cut in from the right beating N Pradeep all ends up and unleashing a sweetly timed shot into the far corner.
It was Lajong who had the better opportunities in the first half as they exploited the large gaps left in the midfield by Air India with their skipper Micky Fernandes, who was running his socks off to make ground in the centre of midfield.
From the other end, the ambidextrous Renedy Singh was causing all sorts of problems with his dead ball skills.
“It was a clash between two sides with small budgets and in the end I feel that it was a fair result. The boys played well,” said Shillong Lajong coach Desmond Bulpin.
Over the 90 minutes, both teams were sharing possession with no real chances in the first half hour.
The Airmen now sit in 10th place in the league with 11 points while Lajong occupy eighth place with 13 after eleven matches.