Xavier leads HAL charge

As defending champions, a stinging defeat at the hands of rivals BEML Limited in the Puttaiah Memorial semifinal encounter was a bitter pill for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Federation Cup campaign.

With the South Zone qualifiers looming ahead and a hot off the press team that was still struggling to combine well, a Herculean task awaited coach Muralidharan and more importantly, for captain Xavier Vijay Kumar.

“The loss was very painful. We disappointed our fans and ourselves. Our confidence took a beating and with the qualifiers coming up, we were worried about what needed to be done,” said Xavier.

The squad underwent a major revamp in strategies, set plays and team composition and a jittery HAL went ahead for the qualifiers against Travancore Titanium and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in Kozhikode, Kerala. “We had benched some of our senior players during the BEML match and that proved costly. So we rejigged the squad, bringing in the seniors and included an equal mix of wingplay and counterattack,” he added.

Xavier gave up his midfield role to play striker along with Nigerian Fredrick Okwagbe while forward Jotin Singh and veteran Murali were put in as medios. Fast runners Bimal Minz and Sathish Kumar Jr. manned the wings and Ricky Joy and Joseph Femi dominated the HAL defence.

The changes worked wonders. HAL crushed Titanium by three goals and then displayed a spirited performance to down SBT 2-0, thereby entering the Inter-Zonal qualifiers of the Federation Cup.

The SBT tie, Xavier said, was a gruelling one which “tested each one of our capabilities”.

“They dominated the first half, but in the second, we slowly worked to pave a comeback. This was our chance and we were not ready to give it up,” said the former India player.

Xavier was the star of the day, and it was one his trademark free-kicks that led to the opening goal, finding an unmarked Murali who netted it with ease. Later on, he capitalised on an errant pass and surged ahead, dribbling around the SBT defenders and slotted in HAL’s second.

“We won a late penalty when I was brought down inside the box. But Fredrick’s attempt was saved by Basheer (goalie). We could have won 3-0,” Xavier admitted.

The Aircraftmen will now head to Mumbai for the Inter-Zonal qualifiers where they will take on ONGC Mumbai (December 11) and Vasco SC (December 13). “Both are good teams but our South Zone win has boosted our confidence and we hope to perform well,” he said.

A win here will see them head for the final round in Guwahati where 16 teams from around the country will be put in two groups of eight for a possible league-cum-knockout tournament. The winners will be assured a place in the Federation Cup.

Furthermore, the recent announcement of the Eklavya Award has come as the icing on the cake for Xavier, who credited it to his dedication for the game. “I’m very happy with the award. In my eleven years with HAL, I have really put in my every bit of energy and worked hard for the game,” he added.

HAL captain Xavier Vijay Kumar (left)