A ten-man Air-India almost pulled off a deserving victory over defensive-minded Viva Kerala in a third round I-League encounter at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Monday.
The match ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw.
The result leaves the promoted Keralites with four points from three matches (a win, draw and loss each) while the airmen have one less from their third successive tie on the trot.
Midfielder Tabia Othalo gave Viva Kerala the lead, his opportunistic 30-yard shot in the 16th minute finding the net after catching Air-India goalkeeper Sarath E C napping.
Air-India, who were doing all the attacking, got their equaliser two minutes later after skipper Bashiru Abbas nodded home a throw in by Uttam Singh from the right flank.
The high-flying locals however got their wings clipped in the 32nd minute when their Cameroonian striker Njoh Jean was red carded for a purported off-the-ball foul on Viva Kerala's African stopper back Tutu George.
Referee Deepak Singh (Delhi) consulted linesman Dinesh Nair (Gujarat) before giving him the marching orders.
George, who writhed on the turf in great distress, however looked hale and hearty no sooner had he left the field for treatment.
Timid Viva Kerala however sadly showed no inclination to take advantage of their numerical superiority thereafter, leaving spectators wondering how they had shocked Mohun Bagan away in the second round and also Air-India in the Federation Cup earlier.
They did however string together a few moves in the second half but only once stretched Sarath, who had to tip over a header by Badmus Babatunde in the 65th minute.
The African, top scorer in the I-League qualifiers last year, later shot wide from the top of the box after being set up by compatriot Wisdom Abbey.
At the other end, Nelson pulled off two saves in quick succession to deny Dhanachandra Singh and substitute Samson Singh respectively. He was however lucky that Paresh Shivalkar's header in the 84th minute from an Uttam throw in, grazed the horizontal and went out.
Furious Air-India coach Bimal Ghosh flayed the red card decision, claiming that it was plain play acting by George. He also criticized the move to appoint a Malayali linesman, Dinesh Nair, for a Viva Kerala match, even though the official hails from Gujarat.
Ghosh also mocked at the decision to give George, who was booked late in the first half, the man-of-the-match award - "for defending well against one striker"!
It is not the first time in the NFL that coaches have railed against what they perceive to be unfair refereeing and it won't be the last.
Air-India will not only miss Jean when they take on Mohun Bagan in Kolkata on December 8 but also their veteran Ghanaian defender Suley Musah, who collected another yellow card today before he was substituted at the beginning of the second session.
Viva Kerala will continue their sojourn in the 'city of gold' where they meet Mahindra United here on the same day.
