Sudeva Delhi make it to the National RFDL Championships, Thoi hattrick helps BFC win

Bengaluru FC defeated FC Goa, while Kerala Blasters beat Sreenidi Deccan in a thriller.

Sudeva Delhi FC qualified to the National Championships of the Reliance Foundation Developmental League (RFDL) following their victory against Muthoot FA in their National Group Stage encounter on Friday. Chawnpui FC were the other victors from Delhi whereas Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters secured thrilling victories in their respective matches in the matches held in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru FC handed a comprehensive 4-1 defeat to their Indian Super League (ISL) counterparts FC Goa at the Bangalore Football Stadium (BFS) in the early morning kick-off. Hat-trick hero Huidrom Thoi Singh drew the first blood by netting in the 17th minute and soon doubled the lead by converting a spot-kick in the 28th minute of the game.

The Gaurs found some respite via their U-23 defender Nikhil Prabhu finding the back of the net in the 38th minute but Thoi ensured that he went into the halftime with a hat-trick to his name by bagging his third goal in the 43rd minute.

Goa never really recovered from this setback as they made multiple attempts to reduce this deficit in the second essay of the game but to no avail. In fact, it was Bengaluru itself who furthered the margin of their victory by calling up forward Akashdeep Singh from the bench, who notched their fourth goal in the 80th minute of the match.

Blasters see off Sreenidi in thriller

Post that, Kerala Blasters claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory in a game that saw some vigorous end-to-end action in the final half-an-hour. After a very quiet first-half, Kerala’s forward Mohammed Ajsal broke the deadlock with a fine strike in the 60th minute.

Sreenidi, however, didn’t bog down and responded back with defender Sahil Tamang bagging the equaliser merely two minutes later. They actually had a good run of about 15 minutes after Tamang’s goal, as Deccan kept knocking Kerala’s defence and found a breakthrough midfielder Umasankar’s goal in the 72nd minute.

The Blasters were far from ready from giving up though. They had rung in five substitutions to bring in some fresh legs after the hour mark and that paid off with forward Muhammad Nisham equalising the scores again in the 86th minute. Eventually, it took an injury time winner by Mohammed Aimen to give Kerala a morale-boosting comeback victory and more importantly three points from this tightly-contested game.

Chawnpui beat Garhwal

Up north in Delhi, it was Chawnpui FC that defeated Garhwal FC in a fairly straightforward game by a margin of 2-0 at Civil Lines. The game comprised of a goal apiece across both halves. First, Chawnpui’s midfielder K Lalchhuansanga opened the scoring in the 37th minute of the match with a strike that provided them with a lot of confidence heading into the halftime break.

They were quick to seal the deal with forward Lalawmawma doubling the lead in the 51st minute. Chawnpui remained solid on the defensive front throughout, not giving away even a hint of an opening to Garhwal to find a way through their backline and hence walked off with a clean sheet to their name.

However, the major news of the day was Sudeva FC qualifying to the National Championships of the RFDL by beating Muthoot FA by a slender 1-0 margin at the same venue in the national capital. Muthoot threw the kitchen sink in as they remained in search of the equaliser right until the very end. The differential point was defender Ashray Bharadwaj’s goal in the 33rd minute, which Sudeva did well to hold on to for the following hour. The game was played with as much discipline as flair, with Bavijith T K taking the only booking of the match. Sudeva’s success emerges as one of the most fantastic storylines of this tournament – from being a club with humble beginnings to battling it out against the best in the country to make it to the final four of this coveted competition.

Brief Scores

Bengaluru

Bengaluru FC 4 (Huidrom Thoi Singh 17’ 28’ 43’, Akashdeep Singh 80’) – 1 (Nikhil Prabhu 38’) FC Goa

Kerala Blasters 3 (Mohammad Ajsal 60’, Muhammad Nisham 86’, Mohammed Aimen 91’) – 2 (Sahil Tamang 62’, Umasankar 72’) Sreenidi Deccan FC

Delhi

Chawnpui FC 2 (K Lalchhuansanga 37’, Lallamwamwa 62’) – 0 Garhwal FC

Sudeva Delhi FC 1 (Ashray Bharadwaj 33’) – 0 Muthoot FA