Minerva blunt Indian Arrows, win 1-0

Minerva blunt Indian Arrows, win 1-0

Ludhiana : Table-toppers Minerva Punjab FC survived a scare before edging past young Indian Arrows by a solitary goal in their fifth-round match in the I-League at the Guru Nanak Stadium here today. The victory took Minerva to 13 points, three ahead of second-placed Shillong Lajong FC, who stunned defending champions Aizawl FC 1-0 in Aizawl earlier today.
Minerva breached the rival defence throughout the match but were guilty of some bad misses. In the first half, they missed as many as nine scoring chances. Ghana’s William Opoku and Girik Khosla made several forays but failed to beat Arrows’ goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. Minerva skipper Kassim Aidara also missed a few clear opportunities as the team headed into half time tied 0-0.
After the change of ends, the home side continued to exert pressure but the goal continued to elude them. It was in the 80th minute that Minerva found the goal they had been searching for. Bhutan’s Chencho Gyeltshen received a long ball on the left and snuck away from his marker to enter the box. He beat another defender, who had run back to tackle him, with a swift cutback before sending in a sizzling shot into the far corner. Stunned, the visitors went all out looking for an equaliser but to no avail. Minerva, too, pressed hard to enhance their lead but couldn’t capitalise on the opportunities. For his outstanding job under the bar, Dheeraj Singh was declared the Man of the Match.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login