AFC Cup 2018: Aizawl knocked out after stalemate against Abahani

2016/17 I-League champions Aizawl FC knocked out of AFC Cup after they manage a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh's Abahani Limited....

Indian side Aizawl FC manage a 1-1 draw against Bangladeshi club Abahani Dhaka Limited on Wednesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka to crash out of the AFC Cup 2018 Group E.

Emeka Darlington had put Abahani in front from a penalty goal in the 31st but Andrei Ionescu equalised for the former I-League champions to snatch at least a point from the Bangladeshi champions.

Santosh Kashyap’s Aizawl FC were on the back of three defeats in the first leg. They needed a win at least to remain in the hunt for a play-off spot but with today’s draw, they are now out of the contention.

The scenario is a little different, yet complicated for Abahani who now have four points from as many matches, five less than New Radiant and Bengaluru FC. They need to win both their remaining matches against those two clubs and hope Aizawl beat them too in their last two games.

It was a much-improved show from the Indian club from their first leg game in Guwahati. Abahani had thrashed them 3-0 in India.

Aizawl enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the match and came close to score on quite a few occasions. They were in control of the match until the half-hour mark when defender Lalram Hmunmawia brought down Darlington inside the box to concede a penalty. The Nigerian comfortably found the back of the net from the spot-kick.

Romanian midfielder Andrei Ionescu restored parity in the 65th minute by slotting home the ball with a right-footed shot from Leonce Dodoz’s pass.