KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club played out their second consecutive draw in the I-League play-off stage as they were held 2-2 by RoundGlass Punjab at the Naihati Stadium on Tuesday.
Faisal Ali put the Kolkata outfit ahead in the 22nd minute, but Joseba Beitia restored parity from the penalty spot just two minutes later. MSC once again took the lead when Marcus Joseph found the net in the 72nd minute, but the Punjab side pulled things back through Kurtis Guthrie eight minutes before the long whistle.
In another match of the day, Churchill Brothers notched up their fifth win on the trot as they beat Rajasthan United 2-1. Towards the end of the game, Churchill were reduced to ten men but managed to cling on and walked away with all three points.
Churchill broke the deadlock against the run of play with a counter attack. The ball ultimately found itself at the feet of Komron Tursunov at the edge of the box. The Tajikistani attacker curled the ball past Bhaskar Roy to give Churchill a surprise lead.
Churchill doubled their lead when Fernandes entered the box and crossed it towards Tursunov but Akhand got in the way and ended up deflecting the ball into his own net in the final few minutes of the first half.
Rajasthan United opened their account mid-way through the second half. Biswa Darjee's venomous strike from distance was saved by Shilton Paul. However, the ball fell right in front of Pritam Singh, who buried the ball in the back of the net.
Tensions were high and frustration crept in towards the closing stages of the game as seven minutes were added on.
Quan Gomes, who had come on as a half-time substitute for Churchill Brothers, received his marching orders after two quick yellow cards as the Goan side were down to ten men in stoppage time.
Rajasthan pressed for an equaliser in the dying minutes but poor finishing let them down.
In a tightly-contested affair, NEROCA FC and Sreenidi Deccan FC played out an eventful 0-0 draw at the Kalyani Stadium. Sreenidi maintained their fourth place while NEROCA also remained at the foot of the championship table after the draw.
