Tursunov scores fastest goal in I-League history

Kolkata, Jan 10: Tiddim Road Athletic Union’s (TRAU) Tajik recruit Komron Tursunov made history by scoring I-League’s fastest goal ever in the ninth second to help his side eke out a 1-1 draw against Real Kashmir FC, here on Sunday.
Tursunov bettered the earlier record in the name of Katsumi Yusa who scored a 13th-second goal for NEROCA FC against Churchill Brothers in the 2018-19 season.
The Tajik international’s strike, however, was cancelled out by Mason Robertson’s 70th minute header at the Mohun Bagan Ground.
Tursunov’s curling effort from outside of the box found the back of the RKFC net, leaving the opposition in utter disbelief. The sheer suddenness of the goal left Real Kashmir FC in disarray as TRAU dominated the opening exchanges.
Real Kashmir fought back and in the 22nd minute, Mason Robertson’s effort from a freekick came close to grabbing the equaliser.
Since then, it was TRAU dominating possession though the Snow Leopards had the lion’s share of goal scoring chances.
In the 25th minute, Dipanda Dicka tried to find the back of the TRAU net after his swift effort inside the box was saved.
The best opportunity for the Snow Leopards fell to Lukman Adefemi in the 37th minute but he missed a free-header inside the box with only the opposition custodian to beat.
Despite TRAU’s possession, chances came were rare and far between for the club from Manipur.
They had a golden opportunity to double their lead in the 58th minute when Komron was put onto goal by a swift counter-attack. He could only test the keeper into making an easy save, as the Snow Leopards survived.
Sitting deep and hitting on the counter-attack, TRAU committed bodies into defence in an attempt of holding on to their lead.
In the 70th minute, Mason Robertson found the equaliser for Real Kashmir after his thumping header off a Ralte freekick found the back of the net. (PTI)