SHILLONG: A dominant force throughout the tournament, a spirited Royal Wahingdoh FC went down in 3-4 in penalties to Minerva Academy in the final of the Nike Premier Cup (U-15 Youth League) at the Duler Stadium, Goa on Friday.
The Royals, unbeaten in the tourney so far, had taken the lead in the 77th min following a Phrangki Buam goal but that was cancelled out barely two minutes later by Gison Singh of Minerva.
The match thus ended 1-1 at regulation time paving way for an extended contest in a final that proved to be a thriller.
Phrangki, however, missed the first spot-kick of the shoot-out while Hmingsang Zuala hit the crossbar when the score was tied at 3-3. Substitute Prasan Chhetri stepped up and struck the winning penalty as Minerva Academy became the champions winning the final 4-3.
The final at Duler Stadium was no mean business and not surprisingly therefore the tie was played under the watchful eyes of India U-17 coach Nicolai Adam while Kushal Das, General Secretary of All India Football Federation and Sunando Dhar, CEO, I-League were also present.
As usual, the Royals started on a dominating note, with the first real chance of the match coming their way as early as the 13th minute.
Phrangki swung a free-kick which kept low and was met by Thongram Singh with a diving header only to miss the target by inches.
Wahingdoh continued to remain in the hunt and were denied another possible goal by Minerva custodian Jaskarenvir Singh in the 26th minute. A swift counter-attack saw Freestar Kharbangar feed skipper Rheadolf Nelson with a defence splitting pass. Rheadolf’s first touch was heavy but managed to get his shot away only for the goalkeeper to prevent a goal with an outstretched leg.
Despite the good show, there were no goals to show in the lively first half as the teams went into the break with the scores at 0-0.
Crossing over, Minerva looked more focused and attacker Givson Singh almost converted soon when his shot from long distance hit the crossbar.
However, it was the Royals who broke the deadlock in the 77th minute. Midfielder Rickyson Makdoh won a duel with Luntinmang Haokip in midfield before feeding Phrangki.
The attacker controlled the ball before smashing it into the nets from 35 yards. The goal was spectacular to say the least.
But their joy was short lived. Barely two minutes later, Givson tried his luck from the right flank with a curling shot that beat Wahingdoh keeper Kevinson all ends up to restore parity.
After 90 minutes of play, there was no clear winner and the match went into extra time. There after Minerva held their nerves to emerge winners eventually.Meanwhile, RWFC’s Rheadolf Nongneng was named the “player of the Nike Premier Cup”.
