Air India thrashed F C Kochin 3-1 and earned three points from the Group A Second Division National Football League final phase round one match at the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
F C Kochin, Kerala's first professional club and relegated from the first division last year, thus saw their hopes of returning to the premier league dashed with this defeat. They have lost all the three league matches they played so far.
In another match, Tata Football Academy, Jamshedpur, stunned State Bank of Travancore 2-0.
This was Air India's second victory from three matches.
Vijith Shetty put the airmen ahead in the 44th minute and Narendra Metei made it 2-0 capitalising on a fine pass from Anthony Fernandes in the 54th minute.
The Kerala side played with determination to reduce the margin and Bijumon made no mistake in converting a penalty kick in the 88th minute.
Just before the final whistle substitute Syed Altrfudin Ahmed made it 3-1 for Air India.
In the TFA-SBT match, Debrata Roy put the Jamshedpur side ahead in the 47th minute, making no mistake from a penalty award after SBT defender Abdul Basheer fouled an advancing Jery Zirsanga.
TFA then put the match beyond the reach of the bankmen, scoring the second goal in the 74th minute through Bimal Pariyar, who shot home a pass from Malsawma.
In the six-team league, Air India and BSF are on top with seven points each from three matches, while SBT and TFA have six points each. The other two, FC Kochin and Assam State Electricity Board, have lost all the three matches played so far.
Tomorrow is a rest day.
