Hindustan Aeronautic Sports Club (HASC) regained the Super Division football league title after a year’s gap by edging out fighting Southern Blues by a solitary goal in their final fixture at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Friday.

Striker Bimal Minz slotted the winner in the 38th minute as HASC clinched the George Hoover Cup with a tally of 38 points, including three points awarded for a walkover against Royals, from 14 matches.

In their unbeaten run, HASC posted 11 wins and drew twice to beat the stiff challenge from defending champions Madras Engineer Group and Bharat Earth Movers Limited.

Disappointing finish

After getting relegated from the National Football League and finishing a disappointing third in the local league last season, the title win must have come as a great relief for the Aircraftmen under a new coach and with a clutch of fresh legs.

“Naturally, we were under pressure and Southern Blues gave us a good fight. But, the team had done well in the league after losing some experienced players last season. It was a good team-effort,” said an elated coach Manivannan.

However, Manivannan conceded that their inability to convert the chances was an area of concern for the team.
The coach’s concern wasn’t far fetched as Southern Blues stood between HASC and title for most of the first-half. HASC were almost shocked in the opening minutes when Blues forward Nirmal Kumar headed inches wide.

HASC responded with a flashy counter-attack but Minz shot way off the target. The Jharkhandi then spurned at least half a dozen chances and was eventually substituted right after the break.

Also guilty was fellow-forward Dada Nabel, particularly in the 25th while spoiling a sitter, even as HASC showed signs of an imminent goal, particularly in the first-half.

Needing an outright win to assure the title, HASC went all out for the lead but they ran out of ideas inside the rival box. Scoring troubles accentuated in the second session with Nabel and Rajendra faltering with the final touch on two occasions each.

Grit

Blues, on the other hand, showed a lot of grit in the opening session but Nirmal missed out with headers twice while Udaya Kumar shot straight to goalkeeper Gumpe Rime at the stroke of half-time.

The dying minutes were a test of HASC nerves even as Blues came close to an equaliser with Udaya flicking inches wide inside the six-yard box during the stoppage time.

Earlier, Army Services Corps (ASC) plundered five second-half goals to trounce Oriental Football Club 5-0. Sourav Das started the scoring as late as the 60th minute while Raghu Kumar (65th, 89th) and Ramachandran (73rd, 79th) completed the rout.

Saturday’s matches: ‘A’ Division: Dharmaraja Union vs BUFC (1.45 pm); Super Division: ASC vs Postal (11.30 am), LRDE vs KSP (3.45 pm).