Pailan Arrows hold Salgaocar to a goalless draw

Kolkata: Defending champions Salgaocar squandered points, failing to get past Pailan Arrows who pulled off a goalless draw at home, in their 18th round I-League return leg match.

In fact, it was advantage Arrows who could have earned their maiden victory this season in injury time when Ajay Singh almost scored but India international Karanjit Singh was alert and managed to keep the scores level. The draw leaves Salgaocar with 30 points from 18 matches while the Arrows have eight from 16 outings. The Karim Bencherifa-coached side started on aggressive note with Edeh Chidi and Ryuji Sueoka up front. Francis Fernandes and Ryuji Seuoka combined well for Salgaocar to supply the ball to Ishfaq Ahmed but only to find the hands of Arrows goalkeeper Ravi Kumar in the 17th minute. In the 39th minute, C S Sabeeth of the home challengers did well to find himself in good position but only to shoot wide. The second-half started like the first and there wasn`t much tempo. A half chance fell to Salgoacar in the 78th minute of play when Chidi could not capitalise on the attack. The Arrows missed a fine chance in the dying minutes when Ajay Singh was almost thorough on goal but Karanjit Singh came out very alert and managed to keep the scores level. Ryuji Sueoka was adjudged man of the match. PTI