A double from Nirmal Kumar helped CIL to a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Jawahar Union during their BDFA Super Division match at Bangalore Football Stadium on Monday.
After Desai had given the lead for Jawahar Union in the 28th minute, Nirmal started the comeback six minutes before half-time with a composed finish. He also scored the second from the penalty spot in the 85th minute to give CIL, who started the match in less than convincing fashion, the lead before substitute Chand Pasha completed the scoring in second-half injury time.
Both teams lacked the urgency in the first-half before Desai’s opener. A regulation punt upfield from Sheik wasn’t mopped up and Desai strolled past them to place it beyond keeper N Venkatesh. CIL thought they replied immediately through Nirmal but the assistant had his flag up for a foul. It didn’t matter much as he scored within a minute of that incident. After some good build up play down the CIL left, a smart cutback from Sheik was converted with aplomb by Nirmal.
After the break, both teams seemed content to play out a draw before CIL thought they had a penalty for a handball in the 83rd minute. Their players surrounded referee Maria Joseph but it came to nought. Two minutes later, though, they got a spotkick after Nagaraj brought down Rahul.
Nirmal rolled the ball in for the lead before Chand put the icing on the cake in the second minute of injury time.
‘A’ Division result: Tilak Memorial: 2 (Raja 3rd, Rajesh 66th) bt Students Union: 1 (Sharath 11th). Tuesday’s fixtures: A Division: LRDE vs DYES; Super Division: South United vs ADE.