Bengaluru FC through to final round of U16 Y-League
Goals on either side of the break from Amay Morajkar and Lalrintluanga Chawnglut gave Bengaluru FC U16s a 2-0 win over Dempo and qualification to the final rounds of the U16 Y-League at the Duler Stadium, in Goa, on Wednesday.
Needing just a point to progress, the Blue Colts refused to leave things to chance with solid performance that saw them finish atop the Rest of India, Zone-1 standings with three wins in as many games.
The opening goal came in the 11th minute when Saqlain Khan was brought down at the edge of the penalty area. Amay’s perfectly placed free-kick beat the wall and went past the reach of the Dempo ’keeper, giving BFC the lead.
John Kila made just one change to the BFC side that had won against Sporting Clube de Goa on Monday with the suspended Nonganba Singh replaced by Lalrintluanga. The midfielder’s through pass come closest to doubling the lead but for Lalrinzuala Lalbiaklana, whose shot could only rattle the Dempo woodwork.
Refusing to sit back, the Blue Colts continued to dominate proceedings and twenty minutes into the second half, a strike from 30 yards saw Lalrintluanga double BFC’s lead.
“I am very happy with the performance of these boys. We’ve had little time to prepare but they’ve gelled well together and the results are there for all to see. We are excited to have made it through to the final round but it’s going to be tougher and there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Kila following the game.
The Blues wrapped up their group commitments in dominating fashion scoring ten times and conceding just once and Kila lays it down to discipline. “We trained these young boys on the pitch and in the gym, giving them a mentality to win football matches. It was a balanced effort from defending well at the back and attacking with discipline and we hope we can do the same in the final rounds.”
The final rounds of the U16 Y-League are scheduled to begin in January.