HAL staring down the barrel

BANGALORE: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's (HAL) hopes of a comeback in the I-League suffered a severe blow as the home team went down 2-1 to a spirited Pune FC on Sunday.Thedefeat will be morale-sapping for the Aircraftsmen as they had enjoyed the upperhand early on even as their rivals struggled to adjust to the uneven groundconditions. Ironically, there was a Bangalore touch to the Pune victory withlocal boy Lester Fernandes scoring the first goal 42nd and his city-mate SVenkatesh doing the spade work for both the strikes, more splendidly for theheader goal by Guinean import Keita Manjdou 52nd. RC Prakash infused some life into the contest with his 62nd minute strike, thanks to a mistimed charge by rival custodian Subrata Paul and a flash of brilliance from the HAL striker in front of the goal. The defeat, HAL's 13th overall andsixth at home, leaves the team placed just above the relegation zone with 20points from 23 outings. Pune FC registered their second consecutive win to tally29 points from 22 matches. Three points from the contest werecrucial for HAL and they started the proceedings in earnest after observing aminute's silence for the home reserve goalkeeper Arun Kumar, who passed away onFriday. HAL had the lion's share of the possession and also beattheir rivals in terms of shots on goal. But again, their perennial inabilitywith their finishing skills did them in. HAL skipper J Murali lookedin good touch in the first-half, creating chances with his fluent passes intothe box and smart distribution in the midfield but frontmen Prakash and foreignrecruit Jagaba Hamza lacked the pace and heart to convert the opportunities thatcame their way. Almost all HAL attacks were routed through the left channel,making it predictable and often ineffective. The opening strike fromthe visitors came off a set-piece when Venkatesh fed Fernandes with acleverly-placed corner shot on the left. The curling right-footer from man ofthe match Lester just outside the box gave the midfielder his first I-Leaguegoal for Pune FC. In the second session, Pune stretched the lead,thanks to efforts from Venkatesh and their Japanese midfielder Arata Izumi. Anunmarked Venkatesh crossed the ball to the goalmouth from the right andManjdov's final touch flew past a diving Rintu Mallick, who effected a couple offeather-touch saves later in the game. HAL's golden moment camethrough probably their only threatening move from the right. Defender RSrikanth, whose runs through the right wing were conspicuous by its absence,crossed it to Hamza. The striker's first attempt failed but Pune custodian Paul,who looked nervous with his scratchy collections, messed up with the charge.Prakash capitalized on the error to score. HAL next face ChurchillBrothers at home on May 8 while Pune travel to bottom-placed JCT, a match HALwant the former to win. As of now, HAL need favours from others as well toremain in the top flight.