Lajong rally to hold Air India

Shillong Lajong FC rallied to hold Air India to a 1-1 draw in a 19th round I-League clash at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Striker N D Opara converted a penalty in the 19th minute to give Air India an early lead, but Wailadmi Passah's strike in the 83rd minute restored parity for the north-east club.

Air India were awarded the penalty after Opara was brought down by Passah. Opara made no mistake from the spot.

Lajong made valiant attempts to equalise and got a couple of opportunities to restore parity in the first half. However, Seikhohao Tuboi's shot off a pass from Anil Gurung was blocked.

Air India custodian Arnab Das Sharma then pulled of a fine save off a shot by Daniel Bidemi, who was set up by Tuboi after beating a couple of defenders.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Tuboi was again in the thick of action as he was in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Sharma. But his shot from the left went wide.

Lajong continued to make inroads into the Air India citadel and finally found success when Passah took advantage of a goalmouth melee and scored.

Following the draw, Air India have 23 points from 19 games, while Lajong have 21 points, also from 19 matches.