Duffy's goal ensures Salgaocar rise above relegation , send Aizawl to the brink of the ditch

IN AIZAWL, when you're going some place, it's never as simple as going left of right. The uneven hilly terrain the city is situated on mandates that in addition to going left and right, you have to mind paths that take you up and down as well. And any journey s likely to take you through multiple twists and turns through roads wide and narrow.

Aizawl FC's maiden season in the top-flight, too, has been mired with such ups and downs, twists and turns. They showed promise, came out with a couple of good results in the latter weeks of the season, but never really managed to climb above the threat of relegation.

It was to bury this scare of downfall that they took on Salgaocar FC at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, their last home game of the league season. 

The stadium was, as usual, tightly packed despite this being a working Monday afternoon. The fans, who had as usual filled up the surrounding hills as well as the stand, cheered on as their local club began with their familiar mobility. Salgaocar, on the other hand, began on a defensive posture with a crowded back-end and seemed happy to limit their adventurism in counter-attacks.

Lalramchullova made a run into the Salgaocar box but Reagan Singh cleared it. Soon the visitors got their first real chance to make Aizawl mind their own box for a change; and it came through a set-piece. It came thanks to a foul on Oliviera by Yuta Kinowaki. Jackichand Singh took it, from what was definitely a scoring range, and missed the post by about four inches. 

Aizawl replied with a great display of team effort, with Chillova tearing past multiple home defenders, losing the ball, Albert recovering it to put further pressure on the Salgaocar defence, but the ball was ultimately cleared. Alfred Jaryan followed this up with a spectacular bicycle kick on a ball he received from the right flank. It went bouncing dangerously past the face of the goal but there was no red shirt at hand to tap it in.

Yuta Kinowaki had a good shot on target that Karanjit saved. Joel Sunday fed Albert for another shot but that was successfully stopped too. Salgaocar moved for a counter and earned a free kick not very far from the penalty box, and at a central position. And this was where they took the lead.

It took unusually long to get the wall lined up with both the Salgaocar midfielders and Aizawl defenders testing each others' concentration. But when Darryl Duffy ran up to take the shot, the delivery was precision itself. It picked a narrow gape on the side of the wall and left the keeper with no chance at all to stop it. Salgaocar had taken the lead, somewhat against the run of play. 

But things took a turn for the worse, for Duffy personally. After being trampled on by Lalruatthara that the referee decided was unintentional, a livid Duffy went nose-to-nose with the referee yelling for a foul. The referee replied by booking him. 

The half ended with Salgaocar ahead, and it was up to Aizawl now to chase the game. And they came into the second half all guns blazing. 

Joel Sunday came painfully close a couple of times but missed. First it was him combining with Alfred to invade the Salgaocar box but Karanjit was sharp enough to save that one. Next it was Joel exchanging with Albert, getting into scoring range, sending Karanjit down to the ground, but still Joel's bullet shot only hit the post.

Albert set up Joel once again with a high cross but the latter's header missed the target yet again, drawing groans of frustration both from the fans and the player himself.

Salgaocar tried to move up and Martin Scott got tangled with Lalruatthara. The two got into a tiff and the referee booked them both. Meanwhile, Yuta Kinowaki made way for young Lalramzauva Khiangte as the home side made one last push for an equaliser.

Although Aizawl had been mostly active through the flanks through the most of the game, they got one good through ball towards the end all the way to Alfred Jaryan. But the striker appeared to be taken by surprise, and the split second delay took away his advantage. The goal remained elusive.

As the match ended its final inutes Salgaocar players tried a couple of time wasting tricks. Karanjit Singh went down, so did Lenny Pereira and eventually Darryl Duffy joined in on it. The away team knocked the ball around and played some disruptive football to see out the remaining time, registering a victory that very well may have saved them from relegation this season.

The win took Salgaocar up to 16 points from 14 games, 5th on the league table in one go. Of all the teams battling relegation they are now the safest.

Aizawl FC, however, just saw their troubles multiply. With 13 points from 15 matches, the threat of relegation on them is now higher than ever. Their last game in the league, which they will play away from home against DSK Shivajians, will require them to win against one of the better teams in the league in order to stay up. The players knew what it meant. They collapsed on the field when the final whistle came.

The crowd applauded the players as they came off the pitch. But it was in a sombre, subdued vein. They were thanking the players that had represented them in the top flight for the first time, but they were taken over by dreadful doubt over whether or not they would get to see another I-League top-tier match on their soil come next season.

Karanjit Singh rightfully took the Hero of the Match award. The Salgaocar team left the pitch together, with a sense of purpose. They are seemingly safe from relegation for now, but the job is not done yet. On Sunday, they face Bengaluru FC away from home, followed by a season-ending Goa Derby clash with Sporting Clube de Goa. If they manage to carry forward their good form into those games, they may achieve something more significant than managing to stay up. They may get to have one final dent in the I-League title race, too.