Ambernath United Atlanta FC kept up their unbeaten start to the Hero I-League 2 campaign with a thrilling 1-1 draw against ARA FC
After a comeback victory in the first match last Sunday against Hyderabad Reserves, AUA FC welcomed ARA FC to their home ground, Cooperage in Mumbai.
Head coach Steven Dias named an unchanged starting XI that won against Hyderabad Reserves in their opening game last Sunday.
ARA FC arrived with two wins on the trot looking to make it a hattrick of wins. Touted as the top of the table clash, both sides were fresh off their respective winning starts.
ARA FC took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Naro Hari Shrestha put them in front in the second minute of first half stoppage time.
After a closely contested first half, ARA FC went into the break with a 1-0 lead. AUA FC faced a similar scenario today as they did in their opening match last Sunday.
Steven Dias brought on Aaron D’Costa at the start of the second half and Abhijit Tawhare in the 71st minute as AUA FC looked to make a comeback from 1-0 down.
The equaliser came in the 79th minute as Jonhson Matthews scored a screamer to bring the home side back on level terms. A direct free-kick that crept in at the far post. Cooperage came alive as AUA FC went in search of the winner in the final ten minutes of the game.
At full-time the score remained 1-1 as both sides shared a point each. AUA FC had a couple of chances to score a second but couldn’t take them. This was both ARA FC’s and AUA FC’s first draw of the season. ARA FC stay top of Group D with 7 points while Ambernath United Atlanta FC make it 4 points in their opening two matches.
Elsewhere Hyderabad Reserves and Dempo SC played out a 0-0 draw which also puts Dempo SC on 4 points. Hyderabad Reserves earned their first point in Group D.
Ambernath United Atlanta FC will now travel to Goa for two away matches against Goa Reserves and Dempo SC in the upcoming week.
