U-18 Youth League: Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters register their first wins
Day 3 of the U-18 Y-League came to a close with as many as 12 goals being scored across the four games. Sportskeeda takes a look at all the games in brief in today's U-18 Y-League Round-Up.
MATCH 1: Sudeva Football Club 3-1 Sporting Clube de Goa
Sudeva Football Club clinched their first win of the National Finals Round on Friday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong as they blanked Sporting Clube De Goa 3-1 in the second round of matches in Group A.
The game comprised of an exciting and nail-biting first half followed by a slow second half. Mohit Singh (23') and Letjakai Fimate (41') scored in the first half for Sudeva while Stendley Fernandes found the back of the net for the Flaming Oranje in the 27th minute. The Delhi based side went into the break with a slender one-goal cushion.
Sporting Clube de Goa showed urgency for the equalizer in the second half but a disciplined Sudeva defense saw off the threat. Ginthenmang Baite scored in the 88th minute and made it 3-1 to kill off the game.
MATCH 2 : DSK Shivajians 1-2 Bengaluru FC
After a disappointing goalless draw with arch-rivals Kerala Blasters in the previous game, the young Blues from Bengaluru bounced back with a win as they pipped DSK Shivajians 2-1 on Friday at the MFA Turf, Shillong.
Kishori opened the scoring for the Blues in the 20th minute, only to see Laldawngkima of Shivajians restore parity in the 35th minute. Biswa Darjee struck four minutes later and put the Blues 2-1 ahead.
In the second half, the battle majorly went on in the midfield and none of the two teams had clear-cut chances to score.
MATCH 3 : Sports Authority of India (EZ) 0-0 Tata Football Academy
Sports Authority of India (EZ)'s U18 boys failed to win today as well as they drew goalless with Tata Football Academy in their second game of the National Finals Round at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong on Friday.
SAI (EZ) came into this game at the back of a goalless draw with Sudeva FC. Meanwhile, Tata Football Academy were entering the fixture after a dominating 4-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa on Match Day 1 of the National Finals.
The game was an extremely well contested and tight affair. The strikers failed as no good scoring opportunities were created and both the teams had to go into the dressing room with level pegging after 90 minutes.
MATCH 4 : Kerala Blasters 3-2 Baichung Bhutia Football Schools
A 94th-minute winner late into the additional time allowed Kerala Blasters to register their first win of the National Finals as they edged past Baichung Bhutia Football Schools 3-2 in a close encounter at the MFA Turf, Shillong on Friday.
Kerala Blasters had earlier drawn with rivals Bengaluru FC, while the BBFS suffered a 1-2 loss to DSK Shivajians.
Ankul Negi put BBFS ahead within six minutes of play from the kick-off. Kerala Blasters struck back with two goals in quick succession as Pragyan (17') and Badusha (29') found the back of the net for the Yellow Boys.
Drama kept unfolding as Yash Sanjay Agre equalized for BBFS in the 40th minute. Both the teams went into the break with the tie equally balanced at 2-2. In the fashion the two sides were playing in, the match could have swung both ways.
With everything to play for in the second half, both the teams went full throttle in a bid to take the lead. Resilient defending at either end of the pitch did not allow the strikers any space to exploit for the large part of the 2nd half.
However, Adarsh AS popped out of nowhere in the 94th minute to score a wonderful goal, putting Kerala Blasters into the lead with only seconds to spare. The additional time winner sent the Blasters' players and staff on the pitch in a frenzy.
What's next?
U-18 Y-League action continues tomorrow in Shillong. Tomorrow's fixtures are as follows :
9 AM: East Bengal v Minerva Punjab
10 AM: Aizawl FC v FC Goa
2:30 PM: Ozone FC Bengaluru vs Shillong Lajong
7:15 PM: SAI Thiruvananthapuram v FC Pune City