For the second day in a row, the Nehru Stadium witnessed a listless match that no one would bother to remember. Ironically, both the ties should have produced gripping action and enduring memories.

After AGORC’s shocking goalless stalemate against Chennai FC, Central Excise and FCI also failed to play with any purpose as their relegation knockout tie ended 0-0 in the St. Joseph’s-CFA senior division league here on Friday.

Excise and FCI, along with TN Police, will now be involved in a playoff to decide the second team that will accompany Chennai FC to the first division.

The prospect of seeing FCI score a goal in open play is as rare as experiencing biting cold in Chennai during May.

The story has been the same for FCI ever since they gained promotion to the senior division three seasons ago.

They have everything — energetic young legs, dribbling skills, robust tackling and watertight marking — except the small matter of scoring goals.

FCI started off the proceedings in right earnest. The team comprising mostly college students kept Excise defenders on their toes with regular surges.

The trio of L. Charles Anandaraj, M. Sarvana Kumar and A. Dilip Kumar were gelling well up front, but the intuition of an FCI goal turned out to be a false dawn.

The only bright moment of the day came late in the second half when Charles, from just outside the box, let go a thunderous left-footed shot on target.

But then, Excise goalkeeper C. Suresh Kumar sprang to his right to effect a brilliant save. After finding Suresh’s outstretched palm, the ball kissed the crossbar on its way to safety.

Central Excise’s plight came to the fore when their coach Janakiraman traded tracksuit for shorts and played the entire match.

That inspiration was still not enough for a team that depend on their talisman Aseem too much. If Aseem fails to fire, there is no way Excise can think of pulling off a win.

So dire are the other players. Excise produced an utterly disjointed performance as they never came close to scoring once.

To say that FCI coach R. Chandrasekar was frustrated would be an understatement. “There is no denying that we dished out a poor show. We failed as a team. We are better than what we played today. Anyway, we still have the playoffs to go. I am confident that we will do well and retain our spot in the elite league,” Chandra said.

Excise’s coach Janakiraman said his team would go all out in the playoffs. He assured that Excise would show improvement against FCI and Police.

The CFA ad-hoc committee would shortly announce the dates for the playoff matches. It also has to clarify how the teams would be separated if they finish with same points after the playoffs.

Based on their performance in 11 matches, FCI and Excise look incapable of hitting the back of the net. Tamil Nadu Police are no great shooters either. Don’t be surprised if a penalty shootout becomes a necessity to decide the relegation battle.

Results
Senior division: Central Excise 0 drew with FCI 0. MoM: Charles Anandaraj (FCI).
First division: Chennai City Police 2 (M. Bharath, M. Devaraj) bt MSU 1 (S. Vimalraj).
Action today
Senior division: Indian Bank vs Arrows FC (5 pm).