I-League: HAL prevent relegation, East Bengal finish second

Match 1:

HAL 4 (RC Prakash – 11^th,Vijay Kumar – 50^th & 68^th; Velleriano Rebello – own goal – 87^th) beat Dempo SC 2 (Ranti Martins — 25^th & 42^nd)

Match 2:

East Bengal 2 (Sushant Mathew — 18^th; Tolgay Ozbey — 38^th) beat Chirag United 1 (Sunil Chhetri – 63^rd)

There were two matches but there were three questions. The first question: Who will finish at the second spot in the I-League table? Dempo SC or East Bengal? That took all to the second question: Will Hindustan Aeronautics Limited be able beat Dempo and save relegation in the process? And then the third surfaced — Will JCT survive or go down with ONGC? Obviously, every question was inter-linked to the other, and all found their answers.

HAL defied form and name to upset former Champions Dempo SC 4-2 to move out of I-League’s ICU and stay afloat for the next season. The result had two implications – Dempo finished third on 50 points, a point below East Bengal in the League table.

Four teams – Air India, HAL, JCT and ONGC finished on 24 points. But on Head to Head count (matches played between the four teams), JCT and ONGC were relegated; HAL and Air India survived.

As Dempo took on HAL, the first sense of drama came as early as the 11^th minute when RC Prakash put HAL in the lead at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa. The promise was very much there – an upset was on the cards.

The goal failed to spur HAL on; instead it came as a wake-up call for Dempo. Ranti Martins, who ended the I-League as the highest scorer with 30 goals, scored two in quick succession – his first in the 25^th minute and followed it up with another in the 42^nd minute as Dempo went into the breather with a 2-1 lead.

But the real drama was in store. Changing over, HAL restored parity – Vijay Kumar slotting home in the 50^th minute and then putting HAL in the lead in the 68^th minute. And then, an own goal from Valleriano Rebello in the 87^th minute ended Dempo’s hopes of finishing second. HAL won 4-2.

Dempo finished at the 3^rd spot with 50 points from 26 matches while HAL ended at the 12^th spot as they finished their engagements on 24 points.

East Bengal beat Chirag: Elsewhere in Kolkata, there wasn’t any such drama as East Bengal took on Chirag United at the Salt Lake Stadium. Sushant Mathew put East Bengal in the lead in the 18^th minute only for Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey to double it in the 38^th minute. Sunil Chhetri pulled one back for Chirag in the 63^rd minute.

East Bengal finished their campaign on the second spot with 51 points from 26 matches while Chirag finished at the 8^th place with 29 points from 26 matches.

For the complete I-League table, click here

TOP FIVE GOAL SCORERS

Name of the Player	Club	Goals
Ranti Matins (Nigeria)	Dempo Sports Club	30
Odafe Onyeka Okolie (Nigeria)	Churchill Brothers	25
Ryuji Sueoka (Japan)	Salgaocar Sports Club	18
Tolgay Ozbey (Australia)	East Bengal	17
Roberto Mendes Silva (Brazil)	Dempo Sports Club	16

TOP FIVE INDIAN GOAL SCORERS

Name of the Player	Club	Goals
Jeje Lalpekhlua	Indian Arrows	12
Anil Kumar P.K	Viva Kerala	11
Sunil Chhetri	Chirag United	7
Gilbert Oliveira	Salgaocar Sports Club	6
Baljit Sahni	East Bengal	6
Shilton D’Silva	Indian Arrows	6