Minerva Punjab FC thrash Aizawl, jump to top of table
PANCHKULA: Second half goals by Akash Sangwan (71st) and Bazie Armand (90+6) helped Minerva Punjab FC beat defending champions Aizawl FC 2-0 and jump to the top of the table on Monday. Minerva were under pressure going into the match with the title at stake. The poor run at home had seen them slip to third behind East Bengal and NEROCA FC.
Minerva had one change with Amandeep replacing Randeep Singh in the midfield.
With Chencho Gyeltshen as the lone striker, Minerva tried making most of the weakened Aizawl. Chenho kept the Aizawl defence on tenterhooks with his darting runs as Minerva pressed forward. He came close in the 11th minute after managing to shake off three defenders but his shot went wide.
Then in the 26th minute, Minerva once again had a chance with Kamalpreet’s cross finding William Opoku. But the header went wide despite Opoku having some space.
The visitors did well to soak up the pressure and went into the break tied 0-0. Minerva finally went ahead in the 71st minute with Sangwan nodding a ball off a rebound. The local-lad managed to shake off his marker but his first attempt was weak and was blocked by Avilash Paul. But Sangwan was alert enough to head the resultant rebound despite being off balance.
The lead sent a cheer around the home side dugout and Minerva played more freely. With Aizawl chasing the equaliser, Minerva managed one more to put the matter beyond Aizawl’s reach. Kamalpreet free kick over the defensive line was tapped into an open goal by Bazie in the sixth minute of added time.