Chirag United Kerala managed to savour a point from their away encounter against Pailan Arrows in the seventh round of the I-League 2011-12, despite having one man sent off in the first half of the game. Shahabaz Saleel took the away side ahead in the first half, but former Viva Kerala forward CS Sabeeth equalised in the second half, making the numerical advantage count.
Chirag Kerlala began the match with Anil Kumar and Gunashekhr Vignesh up front. Australian forward Michael Matricciani was unavailable for selection as the foreigner went down with a fever. Meanwhile, Pailan Arrows lined up CS Sabeeth against his former team.
Saleel put Nizam Ali's men ahead in the 30th minute, as he tapped in from Vignesh's assist. This was Saleel's first goal for the Keral club after joining them from ONGC FC at the start of the season. But just two minutes after the goal, Chirag Kerala were reduced to ten men as Charles Dzisah, who is know to lose his cool often during the game, went on a dangerous challenge on Indian under-19 captain Malswamfela, earning a straight red card from the referee's pocket.
After going down to ten men, Chirag managed well to hold on to the lead till the half time despite persistent attack from the young guns. But, Sabeeth equalised for the Pailan Arrows as he headed in a cross from Avinabo Bhag in the 53rd minute.
After the goal, Arrows tried to get all three points, but they kept on ruing the chances they produced and had to settle for their third draw this season. For Chirag Kerala, it was their first points after the opening day win over HAL SC.
Chirag Kerala now has four points from seven matches, while Pailan Arrows have three from seven games.
Final Score: Pailan Arrows 1-1 Chirag United Kerala FC
Goals: CS Sabeeth (53') - Shahabaz Saleel (30')
Team List:
Starting Eleven:
Chirag United Kerala FC: Sharath K (Goalkeeper), Noushad K, Jagdeep Singh, Charles Dzisah, Sherin Sam, Vineeth CK, Asif K, Shahabaz Saleel, Ajayan K (Captain), Gunashekhar Vignesh, Anil Kumar PK
Pailan Arrows FC: Naveen Kumar (Goalkeeper), Rajiv Ghosh, Lalrozama Fanai, Shouvik Ghosh, Avinabo Bagh, K Jibon Singh, Malswamfela, Gurtej Singh, Gurtej Singh Sr., O Milan Singh, CS Sabeeth
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 24 November 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.