I-League 2nd Division: FC Goa stun Ozone FC Bengaluru, TRAU trounce Chennaiyin FC
The Hero I-League 2nd division continued in full flow as the teams across three groups battled it out to grab a spot at the top of the table as the competition heads towards the closing stages. Here is the roundup of today's action.
Match 1: Ozone FC Bengaluru 1 - 1 FC Goa (Reserves)
FC Goa came into the contest at the back of five back to back defeats and was labelled as the underdogs ahead of the contest and for no small reason, as Ozone FC was the inform team, with as many as five wins and three draws from eight games.
With a lot riding on this match, both teams started off with a cautious approach, unable to score in the first half as the teams went into the break as the scoreline read 0-0. In the 57th minute, Ozone FC Bengaluru made the first change of the match which was followed by FC Goa's first change about 20 minutes later.
It was only in the 82nd minute that Ozone FC Bengaluru opened up the scoring at the Duler Stadium courtesy of some magic from Robert De Souza but the opening goal was negated by a magnificent effort from Meldon Dsilva, who equalised early in extra time, with six minutes to go.
Despite a last-minute dash to find the back of the net, both teams had to settle with a tie. Ozone FC Bengaluru climbed to the top of the Group B table and sit pretty with an unbeaten streak from nine games while FC Goa will hope to take the positives from this game and see a change in fortunes.
Match 2: Tiddim Road Athletic Union Football Club 4 - 0 Chennaiyin Football Club (Reserves)
TRAU and Chennaiyin FC came into the game with similar results from their previous games with a loss, a draw and a win from their last three encounters. However, on match day, at the Khuman Lampak Stadium, Chennaiyin FC was bulldozed by a dominant TRAU FC team, who scored four goals to romp home in style at full-time.
TRAU's Relsangmei Vashum started off the scoring spree with an early goal in the 9th minute of the game that applied early pressure on Chennaiyin FC. A series of three bookings within a space of seven minutes ahead of half-time added more spice to the contest as TRAU FC went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
Late into the second half, at the 80th minute, Soraisham Sandeep Singh scored TRAU's second goal of the game which was followed by yet another goal courtesy of Malemnganba Meitel Kshetrimayum, who scored in the next minute virtually knocking Chennaiyin FC out of the contest.
The move to bring in Shaikhom Ronald Singh in the 71st minute proved rich dividends as he then scored in the 87th minute to knock the wind out of Chennaiyin FC's sails. With the win, TRAU occupies the top spot in the Group C standings while Chennaiyin FC's disappointing run in the season continues.
Match 3: Jamshedpur Football Club (Reserves) 2 - 1 Bengaluru Football Club (Reserves)
Bengaluru FC's reserve team's dream run in the season was given a reality check as Jamshedpur FC's reserve team came up with an inspiring performance to inflict their opponents' second loss of the season.
A goalless first half witnessed both teams playing a careful and quiet approach to their strategies, a stark contrast to the approach in the second half which witnessed as many as three changes within 15 minutes. In the 71st minute, Jamshedpur FC's Gourav Mukhi breached the Bengaluru FC defence to give his team a much-needed lead before BFC's Lalrintluanga Chawnglut quashed the lead with a goal only three minutes later.
However, in the 85th minute, Mukhi recreated his magic with yet another stupendous effort to find the back of the net, triggering wild celebrations in the Jamshedpur setup and setting the cat amongst the pigeons in the BFC camp.
A red card in extra time for BFC's Parag Satish Shrivas compounded woes for the JSW-owned side as they succumbed to only their second loss of the season.