Naihati (WB), April 19: A deflected goal by Shubho Paul helped Sudeva Delhi FC eke out a narrow 1-0 win over Kenkre FC on the final matchday of Phase 1 in the I-League here on Tuesday.
The match got off to a feisty start as Kenkre midfielder Kiran Pandhare unintentionally put an arm in the face of Sudeva’s Nishchal Chandan, busting his nose open in the process.
After the restart, Sudeva were the first to prowl forward with an attack that was put out for a corner by B Nongkhlaw.
In response to the early attack, Pandhare won the ball in midfield with a strong but clean challenge. The midfielder played a pass through to striker Ranjeet Pandre, who had to settle only for a corner. During this spell, Kenkre won three corners in a row but failed to convert any of them as Sudeva dealt with them well.
Sudeva drew first blood as the ball fell to Shubho Paul inside the box and the youngster struck it firmly and saw it ripple the back of the net after picking up a slight deflection off Nongkhlaw in the 13th minute.
Opportunities fell to Kenkre in the second half as they looked for an equaliser. Nagappan’s first touch let him down at the crucial moment. Pandhare’s decent header bounced off the crossbar and Pandre’s effort from close range was saved by Sudeva keeper Sachin Jha.
The victory lifted Sudeva to 11th in the table, a point clear of Indian Arrows.
Winless Kenkre, on the other hand, finished Phase 1 with two draws, keeping them at the bottom of the pile.
Real Kashmir draw against TRAU
Captain Mason Robertson scored in the seventh minute of added time to help Real Kashmir escape with a 1-1 draw and deny TRAU victory in the final match of phase one in the I-League here on Tuesday.
Robertson was aided by defender Ponif Vaz, restoring parity in the final minute of the game.
The game had 0-0 written all over it till the 87th minute when Fernandinho opened the account for TRAU with what seemed like a winning goal. Real Kashmir did not stay quiet as they grabbed the equaliser via their captain.
Real Kashmir almost got their noses in front inside five minutes. Ragav Gupta lobbed the ball into the box for Kouassi Bernard, whose header beat keeper Amrit Gope but the ball was cleared off the line by TRAU skipper Helder Lobato.
TRAU had an opportunity after good build-up play down the left. A low cross from Kishan Singh from the left fell to Fernandinho who was unable to keep his strike on target.
Gokulam Kerala beat RoundGlass Punjab 3-1
Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC defeated RoundGlass Punjab 3-1 at the Kalyani Stadium.
The Club remains in the third position on the points table, as the first phase of the league draws to a close and six more matches are to be played in the second phase.
In the 13th minute, Gokulam Kerala took the lead through Bouba Aminou, who scored with a header from a corner-kick opportunity.
The leveller came in the 48th minute as Kean Lewis’ delivery from a corner-kick caused havoc in the penalty area and headed into his own net by Bouba.
Gokulam Kerala regained the lead in the 63rd minute as Luka Majcen converted an opportunity from a counter-attack. The score became 1-3 in the 72nd minute after Josef Yarney inadvertently turned a cross into a goal from close range. (PTI)
