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Minerva Punjab FC Under-18 boys defeated Real Kashmir FC in the last group stage match of the ongoing U-18 I-League Rest of India – Zone C at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi earlier today.
With the win, Minerva Punjab FC stormed into the final round of the U-18 I-League to be held in Kolkata from April 28 to May 3 followed by the semifinals and final on May 5 and May 7 respectively as the champions of the Rest of India – Zone C having defeated their three group opponents in J&K Bank, LoneStar Kashmir FC and Real Kashmir FC.
The match started off with great intent shown by the Minervans from the first whistle. The Minerva boys flooded the opposition with a plethora of attacks. In the 9th minute, a rasping shot by Bedashwor Singh of Minerva Punjab FC was ably kept out by the Real Kashmir FC keeper. But it was the Real Kashmir boys who drew first blood capitalising on a counter attack and the keepers misjudgement in the 15th minute, making the score 1-0 in their favour against the run of play.
Having taken the lead the Real Kashmir boys started defending in numbers making it very difficult for the Minervans to break through. But persistence paid off in the 41st minute when Bodo combined beautifully with winger Ajaruddin Shah to equalise for Minerva Punjab. Feeding off the new found energy in the team, Anirudh Thapa made a brilliant run into the box with an assist from Krishna Pandit and put Minerva in the lead only three minutes later. The scoreline read 2-1 in favour of the Minerva boys at the lemon break.
In the second half, the match looked far from over as Real Kashmir FC came out with renewed vigour after a tough talk from their gaffer and started attacking in numbers hoping for an equaliser. Both teams knew that whoever won the match would qualify for the final round of the U-18 I-League, Real Kashmir FC tried hard to get the equaliser but their hope were smashed by goal machine Baoringdao Bodo who got his second goal of the match in the 57th minute. With the Minervans 3-1 up and in the lead, Real Kashmir boys fought valiantly but could not make a comeback due to some resolute defending by the Minerva boys, especially Thoiba and Bhagirat.
With this win, Minerva Punjab FC qualified for the U-18 I-League final round at the top of the group table.
