Shillong Lajong hold Air India to 1-1 draw

Mumbai: Shillong Lajong FC rallied to hold Air India to a 1-1 draw in a 19th round I-League clash at the

Cooperage ground here today. Striker N D Opara converted a penalty in the 19th minute to give the airmen an early lead, but Wailadmi Passah`s strike in the 83rd minute restored parity for the north-east club. A penalty was awarded to the home side after Opara was brought down by Passah. Opara made no mistake to convert it. Shillong Lajong made valiant attempts to equalise and they got a couple of opportunities to restore parity in the first half. However, Seikhohao Tuboi`s shot off a pass from Anil Gurung was blocked. Air India custodian Arnab Das Sharma then pulled of a fine save of a shot by Daniel Bidemi, who was set up by Tuboi after beating a couple of defenders. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Tuboi was again in the thick of action as he was in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Sharma. But his shot from the left was wide of the target. Lajong continued to make inroads into the Air India citadel and finally found success when Passah took advantage of a goalmouth melee and scored the equaliser. Following the draw, Air India have 23 points from 19 games, while Lajong have 21 points, also from 19 matches. PTI