Trevor Morgan Appointed As the National Team Coach of The Bhutan Football Team

Bhutan Football Federation appointed former Hull City development coach Trevor James Morgan as the Head Coach for the Bhutan national football team as a start to prepare for the upcoming SAFF Championship 2018 later this year.

Trevor James Morgan has rich experience of coaching in India with East Bengal in two stints(2010-13 and 2016), Dempo SC (2015) and also managed the ISL side Kerala Blasters as an Assistant Coach during the 2014-15 season.

Morgan started his coaching career back in 1995 with Australian side Sorrento FC and has plied his Coaching trade in Asia with Singapore side Sengkang Marine, Malaysian side Sarawak FA before heading to India.

Morgan will take the reins of the Bhutan National team from former Coach Chencho Wangchuk Dorji as the Thunder Dragons head to Male for their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifiers away game against the Maldives on March 27th,2018.

Dicka,Akram on target as Mohun Bagan beats wayward Arrows 2-0

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty for Football Tribe

Two first-half goals saw Mohun Bagan overcome young Indian Arrows at Tilak Maidan on Tuesday (27th February 2018) to climb to the fourth position on the league table with 27 points.

Mohun Bagan came out with a 4-4-2 formation with Azharuddin Mullick and Nikhil Kadam playing from both wings to feed the attacking duo of Dicka and Akram, while Yuta Kinowaki and Cameron Watson were in charge of the midfield as they looked to press the young attacking side from the start.

Indian Arrows Coach de Matos preferred a 4-1-4-1 formation to keep the defensive formation tight as he played center back Deepak Tangri as a defensive screen in front of the two center-backs Anwar Ali and Jitendra Singh to block Mohun Bagan attack down the middle denying the forwards space to move the ball. Rahim Ali started as the lone-striker to undertake the scoring duties.

Mohun Bagan had an early chance on the 7th minute as Nikhil Kadam released Akram Moghrabi into space but the striker's chip over advancing goalkeeper Prabhsukhan landed on the roof of the net.

Both sides exchanged attacks for attacks in the opening burst as Amarjit Kiyams flashing shot from the edge of the box on the 9th minute called for a desperate diving save from Mohun Bagan keeper Shilton Paul to palm it out for a corner.

As Mohun Bagan settled into the game they continued to build-up on their possession and gathered attacking momentum as Nikhil Kadam and Cameron Watson was instrumental in supplying aerial supply into the box for the forward line.

The goal eventually came on the 26th minute as Cameron Watson's long ball from the center line found Dipanda Dicka who shielded his marker and took advantage of the indecisive defending to score with a wonderful overhead kick to give Mohun Bagan a 2-0 lead.

Mohun Bagan maintained the possession and controlled the game as the young Arrows side found it difficult to maintain any consistent attack on the Mohun Bagan side as Rahul Balan and Rahim Ali had too much space in between which allowed Mohun Bagan to intercept attacking build-up play of Indian Arrows.

The second goal came up in the 41st minute as left back Gurjinder Kumar who came on as a substitute delivered a perfect cross into the six-yard box as Akram Moghrabi slid it in, to put Mohun Bagan 2-0 ahead in the game.

Back in the second half, Mohun Bagan continued their domination and Dipanda Dicka almost doubled his tally in the 59th minute as the strikers' header from Nikhil Kadam's cross forced a quick reflex save from Prabhsukhan Gill.

As Mohun Bagan defenders managed to keep the Arrows contained in the quiver with either side failed to create any substantial goal mouth opening in the latter patrt of the second half, the Kolkata side managed to secure three away points with a comfortable 2-0 win.

Mohun Bagan placed fourth with 27 points has 2 games in their hand against Churchill Brothers( 3rd March 2018) and Gokulam Kerala FC (6th March 2018) has a faint shimmering chance to stay in the title hunt subject to results from other teams.

East Bengal Steamrolls Chennai City FC 7-1, Claims Second Spot On The league Table.

The roller coaster season in the Hero I-League took yet another dramatic turn as East Bengal pummelled Chennai City FC 7-1 to claim the second position in the League table surpassing Minerva Punjab FC.
Dudu Omagbemi was the star of the goal-fest with four goals on 32', 49', 56' and 61' while Al-Amna scored the opening goal on the 20', debutant Gabriel scored the final goal for East Bengal on the 84th minute.
 Dharamraj Ravannan scored an own-goal earlier as Chennai City FC managed to pull one back goal through Mashoor Thangalakath in the 59th minute as the Chennai boys were humbled at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
East Bengal handed Kromah a place in the starting eleven alongside Al-Amnah, Kevin Lobo, and Katsumi Yusa.East Bengal midfielders took control of the game from the start as Amnah and Kromah orchestrated the attacks building up to the Chennai City box as East Bengal pressed Chennai deep into their half.
The opening goal came in the 20th minute as Lalram Chullova released a long ball from deep into the East Bengal half to Al-Amna who fended off a challenge from Veniamin Shumeiko to find space in the box but his shot was saved by Chennai keeper Kabir twice but Mahmoud Al Amnah made no mistake in his third attempt with his left-footed effort to give East Bengal 1-0 lead.
The second goal came on 23rd minute as Chullova made a darting run from the left wing to deliver a low cross and Dudu was lurking in the six-yard box as Dharmaraj Ravanan tried to steer the ball away but ended up putting it into his own goal as Chennai slumped to a 2-0 deficit within the half-an-hour mark.
As East Bengal kept the momentum going forward they were rewarded by the third goal in the 32nd minute as Mahtab Singh and Katsumi exchanged couple of passes pushing forward and right back Mahtab Singh released another long ball into the box and Chennai City center-back Veniamin Shumeiko made an error of judgement expecting keeper to collect the long ball but Dudu Omagbemi showed his poaching skills as he squeezed between the defender and goalkeeper to collect the loose ball rounded off the keeper and slotted in a calm finish to put the game beyond Chennai FC with a 3-0 lead.
Trailing by three goals at the break, in the second half just four minutes into the game Dudu Omagbemi scored his second goal on the 49th minute with a thunderous shot from inside the box to rattle the top-corner of the net after picking up from a ball from Al-Amna who wriggled his way into the box  to score East Bengal's fourth goal of the afternoon.
Chennai City FC looked hapless, as the match was on a one-way traffic and it wasn't long before in the 56th minute, Dudu Omagbemi scored his hattrick from a brilliant through ball from Ansumanah Kromah as he found space between Ravanan and Edwin Vanspaul and tucked it off with a sublime finish to the right of the keeper to make it 5-0 close to the hour mark.
Chennai City FC managed to pull one back as Mashoor Thangalakath scored from a volley inside the box within a minute of coming on as a substitute as the game still tilted heavily in the favor of East Bengal at 5-1 by the hour mark.
East Bengal was in no mood to relent the pressure as they attacked in number from the flanks and down the center as Chennai FC found it difficult to thwart the never-ending wave of attack.Dudu Omagbemi was ruling the roost on the field as he picked up his fourth goal on the 61st minute from  Katsumi Yusa corner as Chennai defenders failed to clear the ball and Dudu took advantage of the indecision to direct the ball into the back of the net to give East Bengal a massive 6-1 lead.
Khalid Jamil sensing the blood of the opposition wasn't happy to sit back and went for the kill as he introduced attacking midfielder Gabriel Fernandes and Jobby Justin to add more venom to the attack and pick up on the goal difference should that be a factor in the closing stages of the league.
The positive move from the Khalid Jamil paid-off as debutant Gabriel Fernandes repaid the Coach's faith by scoring his first and East Bengal's seventh goal on the 84th minute with a right-footed curler just outside the box landing at the top right corner leaving the Chennai keeper Kabir with no chance to stop it.
As the referee blew his whistle to end the Chennai City FC's ordeal, East Bengal has now placed themselves as serious contenders for the title as they breathe on the shoulders of NEROCA FC and pipped MINERVA FC by the virtue of better "head-to-head" record with 29 points from 16 games.
As the season draws to it's close the three horse race between Eat Bengal, Minerva FC, and NEROCA FC is expected to go down the wire for a nervous finish but Minerva FC holds the advantage of having three remaining games including two at home as East Bengal will have to make the tricky trip of Shillong against Lajong followed by the final game against contender NEROCA FC at home on 8th March 2018 at 3 P.M.

Aizawl FC Marksmen shoots Arrows Down,Wins 3-0.

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

Aizawl FC went into the match with the intention to win all three points as last of their remaining two I-League games at home and was successful to end their winless streak beating Arrows 3-0  at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Friday

.

Indian Arrows Coach Luis Norton de Matos went in with a 4-3-2-1 as Edmund Lalrindika played like a ”False Nine" supported Jeakson Singh and Nongdamba Naorem on both sides. While Santosh Kashyap played a conventional 4-4-2 formation with Leonce Dodoz and Lalkhawpuimawia leading the line and Andrei Ionescu playing in the attacking midfielder role.

Not playing a proper striker did not help the young side as they could not build up any attack in the scoring zone as Edmund Lalrindika found himself alienated from the midfielders.Aizawl FC used the space between Arrows midfield and striking line to control the game from their own half as Alfred Jaryan, Lalthanga Khawlhring and Andrei Ionescu controlled the midfield and piled attack on the Arrows defense from the onset.

As a result, the goal came on just 7th minute for Aizawl FC as number 9 Lalkhawpuimawia danced around Sanjeev Stalin to lose the right back and delivered a low cross into the six-yard box which Prabhsukhan Gill failed to collect and parried into the path of an advancing Ionescu who scored with a simple tap-in to make it 1-0 for Aizawl FC.

It did not take Aizawl FC long to double their lead as Laldinliana threaded a brilliant through ball and Puimawaia made an incisive run between the two Arrows defenders to find himself on a one-on-one with the goalkeeper but his initial shot found the bar post but the number 9 made no mistake to capitalize on the rebound to give Aizawl 2-0 lead with just 16 minutes into the game.

It Aizawl FC who dominated the game with clever one-twos and the attacking trio of Dodoz-Puimawaia and Ionescu tormented the Arrows defense as the young colts were made to stretch and lose their shape at times.

Aizawl went into the halftime with a 2-0 lead and looked in complete control of the game.Back in the second half, the first chance fell to Leonce Dodoz as he found himself in a scoring position with the goalkeeper at his mercy but his powerful shot bounced off the cross-bar and went out. 

The young Arrows side found themselves in a rare opportunity on the 50th minute,  as defender Anwar Ali found himself in an unusual position with only the goalkeeper to beat but lack of finishing did him in, as Avilash Paul pulled off a save from close range.

On 53rd minute Dodoz and Ionescu played a brilliant "one-two" on the edge of Arrows box to split the defense but Ionescu hit it straight to Arrows keeper much to the disappointment of the home crowd.

Aizawl maintained their domination in the second half, as Dodoz kept on tormenting Arrows from the left and on 65th minute the Ivorian was unlucky not to score from his brilliant diagonal run down the left into the box and unleashed a left-footed shot which flashed across the face of the goal to miss the target.

Ionescu missed another easy chance from a promising position on 73rd minute as the Romanians left-footed effort sailed over the bar.

Deep into the game, on 87th minute Aizawl FC stamped their authority on the match with a third goal taking advantage of the Arrows playing high on the pitch as Dodoz evaded a tackle from Lalengmawia at the halfway line to release Puimawia for a brilliant through ball and the Mizo striker scored his second of the night to make it 3-0 for Aizawl FC.

Lalkhawpuimawia was adjudged the Hero of Match for his two goals(16' and 87') and an assist.

Aizawl is placed 6th on the league table with 21 points as they go into the final two I League games of the season against Minerva FC(away) and Gokulam Kerala FC(home) before beginning their AFC Cup 2018 campaign against Bengaluru FC on 7th March 2018.

Gokulam Kerala beats Minerva Punjab FC 1-0 to spice up I-League title race

The race to Hero I-League spiced up as Minerva FC had a major slip after they lost 1-0 to Gokulam Kerala FC who have made a name for themselves as Minerva FC succumbed to be Gokulam's third major victim after beating Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
First-half saw odd chances at both ends as both teams jostled to gain control over the game.The game was quite physical at times and none of the teams was successful to keep long possession or string passes together for any build up to the goal as odd chances were not capitalized.
The second half saw both teams coming out to look for the elusive goal as chances opened up at both ends. Arjun Jayaraj fired in the first warning as he tested Minerva keeper Kiran Limbu with a powerful volley on the 66th minute as it crashed on the woodwork.
It was Rashid's turn on the 71st minute as the Gokulam midfielder dispossessed William Opoku for a delightful chip from 30 yards out, as Minerva keeper Kiran caught off the line, only to see his Gokulam Kerala's effort finally paid off on 75th minute as Provat Lakra's left-footed cross inside the box found Henry Kissekka whose initial header crashed onto the horizontal bar but the striker was smart enough to react to the rebound with a fantastic overhead kick to give Kerala a 1-0 lead.
William Opoku had a golden chance to equalize on the 89th minute as he found space inside the box to strike a first-time volley but failed to hit the target as he sprayed his shot wide off the keeper.
There were a few nervy moments for Gokulam as Minerva goalkeeper came forward in the final minutes and his looping header missed the target narrowly in the 96th minute.Gokulam managed to hold onto the lead and pulled off an incredible victory over league leaders Minerva Punjab FC to throw unforeseen possibilities into the title race as East Bengal and NEROCA FC still stays in the hunt.

Bengaluru FC storms into AFC Cup group stages thrashing TS Sports Club Maldives 5-0.

Antonio Rodríguez Dovale hattrick powered Bengaluru FC into the Group stages of the AFC Cup as they beat TS Sports Club 5-0 at the Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday.
The first leg in the Maldives was a closely fought game as Bengaluru managed to steal a 3-2 away win.Bengaluru FC was on an offensive from the start at their "fortress" as they marauded TS Sports Club with an early goal in the 12th minute through a powerful long-range effort by Dovale from an Alwyn George assist.
Dovale was at the heart of the action as he found himself in a scoring position on the 35th minute as Paartalu headed the ball into the box towards Dovale and Spaniard made no mistake to rattle the nets once again to extend the lead to 2-0 with a neat finish.
Bengaluru FC was on a roll as they dominated the possession and within a minute Erik Paartalu's clever volley from 40-yards out caught the goalkeeper off the line to give Bengaluru FC 3-0 lead as TS Sports went into the break with three goals down.
In the second half, three minutes into the game Udanta Singh in a quick counter-attack made the run laid it off for Toni Dovale as he just slotted the ball with a simple finish to complete his hattrick for the night.
Rahul Bheke increased the woes of the Male side with a goal on 90th minute to give Bengaluru a comprehensive 5-0 win and an aggregate 8-2 win to seal a place in the AFC Cup Group stages where they join Aizawl FC(India), New Radiant (Maldives) and Abahani Limited Dhaka(Bangladesh) in the group E.

SANTOSH TROPHY FINAL PHASE TO KICK-OFF IN KOLKATA ON MARCH 19

NEW DELHI: Defending champions West Bengal will take on Manipur on the opening day as the 72nd edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy kicks-off in Kolkata on March 19, 2018.

Ten teams who qualified from the preliminary stages have been divided into two groups of five teams each with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals which are to be played on March 30, 2018. The final is slated for April 1, 2018.

All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das wished luck to all the participating teams.

“We are delighted to have the Santosh Trophy being hosted in Kolkata. I wish success to the 10 finalists and look forward to a successful hosting of the prestigious event by the Indian Football Association,” he said.

The groupings are as follows:

Group A: West Bengal, Chandigarh, Manipur, Kerala, Maharashtra.

Group B: Goa, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Karnataka.

The fixtures of the tournament are as follows:

GROUP A

19/03/2018 – Chandigarh vs Kerala

19/03/2018 – Manipur vs Bengal

21/03/2018 – Maharashtra vs Bengal

21/03/2018 – Chandigarh vs Manipur

23/03/2018 – Kerala vs Manipur

23/03/2018 – Maharashtra vs Chandigarh

25/03/2018 – Bengal vs Chandigarh

25/03/2018 – Kerala vs Maharashtra

27/03/2018 – Manipur vs Maharashtra

27/03/2018 – Bengal vs Kerala

GROUP B

20/03/2018 – Odisha vs Punjab

20/03/2018 – Mizoram vs Goa

22/03/2018 – Karnataka vs Goa

22/03/2018 – Odisha vs Mizoram

24/03/2018 – Punjab vs Mizoram

24/03/2018 – Karnataka vs Odisha

26/03/2018 – Goa vs Odisha

26/03/2018 – Punjab vs Karnataka

28/03/2018 – Mizoram vs Karnataka

28/03/2018 – Goa vs Punjab

SEMI-FINALS

30/03/2018 – Winner Group A vs Runners-Up Group B

30/03/2018 – Winner Group B vs Runners-Up Group A

FINAL

01/04/2018 – Winner Semi-Final 1 vs Winner Semi-Final 2

Shillong Lajongs Beats Aizawl FC 2-1 in the North East Derby.

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

The mercury dipped sharply at Shillong in the cold evening but the chill did not deter Lajong to come out all guns blazing to script a 2-1 win over Aizawl FC. Deemed as the "North East Derby", this fixture has a history of producing something dramatic as two sides came out to exert dominance over the other.

Two second-half goals from Abdoulaye Koffi and Saihou Jagne paved the way for a thrilling 2-1 win, as Dodoz managed to pull one goal back for visitors in the 95th minute.

The first half saw both teams playing compact football and not pushing high to leave space for the opponents to exploit in the attacking third as Lajong and Aizawl defended deep and tried to break on the counter. In the first half, it was a very tight game but Lajong enjoyed better ball possession and looked more penetrative on the break.

Both teams went into the halftime break goalless, post a barren first half.Lajong introduced Abdoulaye Koffi in place of Kynsailang Khongsit at the break to add more venom to their attack.

Koffi had an impact soon after coming as a substitute as Lajong got Aizawl defenders found out wanting, using the long ball to utilize the space behind the Aizawl defenders who came out attacking in the second half.

The goal finally came in the 57th minute from Saihou Jagne's cross, delivered with artistic precision from the right flank found Koffi left unmarked behind two Aizawl defenders. Koffi timed his jump perfectly to head the ball beyond Avilash Paul to give Lajong the opening 1-0 lead.

As Aizawl FC started to push forward and playing a high line looking for an equalizer, Saihou Jagne found space on the right to run towards the goal and rode an attempt to intercept from Alfred Jaryan as he found himself in a one-on-one situation to chip the ball calmly at the back of the net to make it 2-0 for the Lajong on the 73rd minute.

Backed by the vociferous crowd and the beating drums Lajong looked to cruise to a comfortable win but Aizawl managed to pull one back to make it 2-1  on the 95th minute as Dodoz scored a poachers goal to tap in Nidhin Lal's half stop from Ionescu's shot to give Lajong a few nervous last minutes.

But Lajong managed to hold on to their lead to make it home with a 2-1 win as they travel to Kolkata for their last game of the season against East Bengal on 4th March at the Salt Lake Stadium.

NEROCA FC Slips In Their Final Home Game Losing 3-2 To Mohun Bagan AC.

Imphal has witnessed the bloodiest of battles during The Second World War between the Allied Forces and Imperial Japanese Army during the 1940's and the match between NEROCA FC of Imphal and Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan AC could have a similitude with the way both teams fought tooth and nail during the 90-minutes of the game.
The close fought encounter saw Mohun Bagan win by a narrow 3-2 margin with a couple of goals from Dipanda Dika and a winner from Akram Moghrabi to nullify NEROCA's Subhash Singh and Felix Odilli  Chidi's effort.
Mohun Bagan has little title aspirations left in their campaign after their season went haywire following a series of losses and drawn games at home.Mohun Bagan's motivation going into the game was to play for pride and honour of the prestigious club and look for a top-four finish should AIFF decides to host the Super Cup, later this year.
NEROCA FC has been oscillating in the top 3 of the league table and went into the match as table toppers having an unbeaten run in the last 4 games with three wins and a draw.The match against Mohun Bagan was imperative in their title quest as they went into the match with two games in hand.
Gift Raikhan persisted with young Bishorjit Singh in the goal and brought in veteran defender Gorimangi Singh to pair alongside Varney Kallon at the heart of the defence.Saran Singh, Vorbe Jean Fabien and Aryn William formed the three midfielders and Felix Chidi upfront was supported by Gopi Singh and Subash Singh from both the flanks in the 4-3-3 formation.
Mohun Bagan Coach Sankarlal Chakraborty deployed a 4-1-3-2 formation as Kingshuk and Eze Kingsley was in charge of the Centre Back, Watson played the defensive midfielder role while Japanese midfielder Yuta Kinowaki was the holding midfielder role assisted by Nikhil Kadam and Azharuddin on both flanks. Dipanda Dicka and Akram Moghrabi formed the tip of the attacking duo as looked to snatch three crucial points from the den of the NEROCA.
As the high-intensity match kicked off with both teams looked to control the game and started playing a high line in search of an early goal.NEROCA were rewarded around the 15 minutes mark from a defensive error of Kingshuk Debnath as Subhash Singh picked up the loose ball and ran into empty space and slotted it past Shilton Paul to give the home side an early lead.
Mohun Bagan did not get pegged down by the early goal as Yuta Kinowaki and Cameron Watson controlled the midfield play through the neat interchange of passes and crucial interceptions.Bagan struck just four minutes later as Dipanda Dicka was brought down into the box by NEROCA keeper Bishorjit and the referee straight away pointed to the spot.Dicka stepped up for the penalty and found the back of the net with a well placed powerful shot to bring the Mariners back into the game in the 21st minute.
As Mohun Bagn looked to regroup and take control of the game, they were stung by a fast-paced NEROCA counterattack down the left as Kingshuk Debnath found himself guilty of his second lapse of the game misjudging the ball's trajectory as his failed headed clearance was picked by left-back Tondomba, who found Felix Chidi at the edge of the 18 yards box.Chidi made no mistake to make it 2-1 with his powerful finish leaving Shilton with no chance.
It was a game of reversing fortunes as both sides battled to gain an edge over the opposition and chances were getting created by the minute at both ends.Dipanda found the equalizer on the 36th minute as Arijit Bagui's surgical cross found Dipanda's header as NEROCA's defenders were caught flatfooted as the striker found the net second time in the game to make it 2-2 for the visitors.
Mohun Bagan was dominant in the centre half of the pitch as they kept the NEROCA defence under persistent pressure and soon the dominance paid off as Akram Moghrabi found typical strikers poachers goal in the six-yard box heading in a flick-on from Yuta Kinowaki to give Mohun Bagan a 3-2 lead into the halftime break.
Into the second half Gift Raikhan handed NEROCA's new foreign recruit Australian Nicholas Ward his debut and the midfielder started to have an immediate impact as he distributed the ball to Felix Chidi and Subash Singh to create telling pressure on Bagan defence.
Ward had a glorious chance to have his name on the scoresheet as his glancing header sailed over the cross-bar.NEROCA FC threw everything at Mohun Bagan as the Mariners had to resort to some desperate defending to protect their lead.Deep into the second half, Mohun Bagan had to make some goalline clearance from the goalmouth melee and defended deep into the half with Yuta and Watson assisting the back-four.
As the time kept ticking towards the final 45 minutes, Mohun Bagan's tactical change to bring Raynier eased the pressure as they managed to keep possession going into the 5 minutes of injury time.Mohun Bagan held on to the nerves as saw through the remaining minutes defending their frugal lead to steal three points from NEROCA FC but damaging their title prospects in the process.
With the crucial away win Mohun Bagan's top-four prospects looks secured as they on 4th place with 24 points from 15 games, while NEROCA's title aspirations will depend on Minerva FC and East Bengal's performance as the Imphal side are left with just one away game against East Bengal.

The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has appointed Nizam Packeer Ali as the Head Coach of the Sri Lanka National Football team.

 
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) announced the appointment of Packeer Ali as the Head Coach of the Sri Lankan national football team after chairing an executive committee meeting with National Team Management Committee headed by Rohitha Fernando and Major General Athula Kodippili.
Packeer Ali, who hails from Matale has been handed a two-year contract by the technical committee.Packeer Ali who is a former Sri Lankan international made his debut in 1976 and played his club football for Colombo York FC later went onto captain the national side during the 1980's.
Sri Lankan football team has been without a national team Coach since July 2017 before Dudley Steinwall was relieved of his duties along with Assistant Coach Devasagayam Rajamani and Goalkeeping Coach Mahinda Galagedera.
Sri Lanka is ranked at 200 in the FIFA rankings and Packeer Ali would have a monumental task to transform the national side to be a competitive force in the SAFF region for the upcoming SAFF Championship,2018 scheduled to be held in Dhaka in September.
“I shall be returning to Sri Lanka at the earliest to give my dedicated services to Sri Lanka Football. A dream come true at last for me. I thank everybody again for making my dream come true and I assure you all that I will never let you all down. Pray for us and support us,” said Packeer Ali in a Facebook post.

Tribhuvan Army Club(T.A.C) beats Three Stars Club 2-0 to win the Ruslan 9th Simara Gold Cup

(Photo Credit:THT)

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

Tribhuvan Army Club won the Ruslan 9th Simara Gold Cup Final on Saturday beating Ruslan Three Star Club 2-0 on Saturday at the Simara Stadium on Saturday (February 17,2018)

Dinesh Henjan who scored in the semi-final against Birgunj United scored the opening goal on the 58^th minute to give TAC the all-important lead in the final.

Nepal International Nawayug Shrestha added to the score on 73^rd minute to seal the match for the Armymen.

TAC is enjoying strong form this season as Nabin Neupane’s side have added a fifth win to their Championship title this season having won four knock-out tournaments out of eight they have participated so far.

Army Club have won the titles of Bishal Memorial Gold Cup, Satakshi Gold Cup, Kakadbhitta Gold Cup and Khaptad Gold Cup while Three Star Club has won Madan Bhandari Memorial Itahari Gold Cup and Budha Subba Gold Cup.

Champions TAC earned Rs 551,000, while runners up Three Star Club received Rs 250,000. Goalscorer Dinesh Henjan was named Most Valuable Player(MVP) of the tournament and he also received the highest scorer’s award netting three goals in three matches.

Soosairaj's brace for Chennai City FC sinks Churchill Brothers

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

Chennai FC rode on a brace from Captain Michael Soosairaj to beat Churchill Brothers 3-1 at the JL Nehru Stadium in Coimbatore on Saturday (February 17, 2018).

Serbian forward Aleksandar Rakic opened the scoring for Chennai FC as the striker collected the ball from Jesuraj's through ball to launch a powerful shot to rattle the net and giving Chennai a 1-0 lead.

Michale Soosairaj scored just three minutes later as the strikers long shot on goal bounced off the uneven surface and turned away from the keeper and landed at the back of the net leaving James Kithan perplexed as Chennai FC went 2-0 up within half an hour mark.

Post-halftime break, Soosairaj scored his second goal in 54th minute as he followed a strong low-shot by Jesuraj but Churchill keeper James Kithan failed to stop it completely and Soosairaj found himself in perfect position to tuck the rebound past the keeper to make it 3-0.

Churchill could not open the goal-mouth throughout the 90 minutes due to lack of quality upfront as Koffi Mechac was substituted in the first half and had to rely on Britto and Uttam Rai supported by Dawda Ceesay upfront. Churchill tried to use the flanks using Uttam Rai and Nicholas Fernandes to provide width from both sides while Cessay was playing behind Britto as a playmaker, but lack of quality in the final ball let Churchill down to as they failed to ruffle the Chennai backline as Veniamin Shumeiko and Donghyeon Kim showed good sense of positioning to eliminate any threat from the Churchill attacking line.

Churchill brothers managed a consolation goal in the 93rd minute as Monday Osagie capitalized from a scrappy defending in the box as Kim Dong-Hyeon failed to clear the ball. But it was too little too late as Chennai FC cruized to a convincing 3-1win in front of their home fans.Chennai FC is now placed at 7th spot with 16 points as they gain some breathing space out of the relegation chamber.

Senior Women's National Football Championship:Tamil Nadu beats favourite Maniput to win their maiden title

Tamil Nadu women's team was crowned as the Senior Women's National Football Champions for the first time as they beat favourites Manipur 2-1 in the final of the 23rd Senior Women's National Football Championship at Cuttack on 14th February 2018.
Tamil Nadu making their maiden appearance in the final of the Women's Championship stunned the Manipur side by opening the scoring in the 3rd minute by Indumathi.Early in the game, the Manipuri side was caught napping as Indumathi powered her run weaving through a couple of defenders in the opening minutes and slotted it past the keeper with a neat finish to give Tamil Nadu an early lead into the game.
Stunned by the early goal Manipuri girls threw all their attacking resources and kept knocking on the Tamil Nadu backline vehemently as they pushed their players forward in search of an equalizer. 40 minutes into the game Tamil Nadu shocked the defending champions as they doubled the lead through Indhrani to make it 2-0.
In the second half, Ratanbala reduced the margin for to make it 2-1 on the 57th minute as they looked for their second goal for the equalizer.Manipur had total control over the game as Tamil Nadu defended deep into their own half in numbers.
Manipuri forward of Bala-Grace-Ratanbala kept pressing the Tamil Nadu defence and Tamil Nadu were forced into some desperate defending in their own half for the major part of the final 30 minutes.Tamil Nadu had a chance to score from a counter attack as Manipur backline was left unguarded on the 66th minute, but Nandhini failed to nail the game as she missed a golden chance to put the game beyond contest.
Tamil Nadu held on the lead and defended the narrow lead to script a historic win in their maiden final to win the 23rd Senior Women's National Football Championship.

East Bengal falters in their title chase,loses 2-1 to Gokulam Kerala FC

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

East Bengal went into the match having the momentum of beating Minerva Punjab FC in the crucial tie against Gokulam Kerala FC to stay in the hunt for I-League championship, desperately looking for 3 points. But a stellar show from Gokulam Kerala FC humbled East Bengal 2-1 at the EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode on Saturday.

Khalid Jamil strangely opted for a lone striker in the form of Dudu Omagbemi who has lost his pace and sheen with age and was found wanting at times as Gokulam FC midfielders weren't shy at putting strong tackles in their half.

Goukulam Coach Bino George's tactical formation in the midfield successfully cut-off playmaker Al-Amna from feeding the forward line and the link up play between the midfield trio of Amna, Lobo and Katsumi was successfully thwarted.

Both teams had some decent chances in the first half but failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunities but the stalemate was finally broken when Emmanuel Chigozie brought down Kevin Lobo into the box during the injury time of first half and the referee straight away pointed to the spot.

Japanese midfielder made no mistake from the spot kick to give East Bengal crucial one-goal lead on the brink of halftime.

Back in the second half, Gokulam FC maintained the major share of possession as they took control over the match from the beginning. Henry.Kivi, Irshad and Jayaraj were completely in control of the game as they made the East Bengal defence stretch from all sides.The pressure on the East Bengal defence finally paid off as Kivi Zhimonu scored the equalizer in the 51st minute for the home side with a powerful shot after Henry laid it off to Kivi.

Henry did not enjoy the rub of the green himself and was denied by the woodwork couple of times as he could have easily scored back to back goals against the two Kolkata giants, coming fresh from scoring a brilliant goal against Mohun Bagan last week.

First, his long-range screamer on the 76th minute and then followed by a thumping header on the 86th minute were both denied by the woodwork leaving the striker in dismay.

As the match seemed to head for a draw some intelligent football by Gokulam FC secured the crucial winning goal for the Kerala side in the 87th minute.Henry was at the heart of the action again as the quick attack in the East Bengal box caught the East Bengal defenders out of shape and Henry played it onto Arjun Jayaraj who delivered a low cross but Salam Ranjan Singh failed to deal with cross and turned it into his own net to score a dreaded own-goal to give Gokulam FC a 2-1 lead.

In the final minutes of the game, both teams were involved in some heated exchanges and strong tackles as both teams were reduced to 10-men as Irshad was red carded on 91st minute and Arnab Mondal earned his second yellow card on the 96th minute with a cynical tackle on Arjun Jayaraj.

Gokulam Kerala FC secured a 2-1 win as they continue their late resurgence to hold 8th position in the league with 16 points while Khalid Jamil's East Bengal would have a monumental task ahead as they let their momentum slip having secured 26 points from 15 games.

Anarjit Kiyam scores late penaty,Arrows snatch 2-2 draw against Aizawl FC

Luis Norton de Matos coached AIFF developmental side Indian Arrows seems to have finally evolved into a mature side and turned from a side conceding late goals to a side scoring late goals.The indomitable spirit of the young boys (U-19 side) was evident in their game against Aizawl as they robbed Aizawl of 2 points with a late penalty on the 89th minute to salvage a 2-2 draw at the Tilak Maidan, Goa on Friday.
Arrows have already made themselves known for their incessant intensity and pace they play throughout the game and it was evident on Friday against Aizawl as the young colts came from a goal down twice to steal 1 point.
Aizawl opened the scoring on the 40th minute as Masih Saigani picked up a loose ball from Andrei Ionescu to slot it past Arrows keeper Prabhsukhan Gill to make it 1-0, as Aizawl went into the break with a one-goal lead.
Back in the second half, it took Arrows just 3 minutes into the second half to make it 1-1 through an Edmund Lalrindika strike on the 48th minute.Edmund found himself at the end of a brilliant cross from Ashish Rai down the right flank and his intelligent cutback created space away from two defenders and the Mizo lad finished it off with brilliant curler past Avilash Paul to even the scores.
As the match proceeded towards an hour mark, Aizawl managed to get a lead into the game in the 54th minute as Dodoz managed to meet a low cross from Zohmingmawia to make it 2-1.
Aizawl FC  faced an incessant wave of attack as Arrows continued their high paced game using the flanks and quick one-two looking for an equalizer.Luis Norton de Matos went all out looking for an equalizer as he introduced Suresh Singh Wangjam and Rahim Ali to add more teeth to the Arrows attack.
Deep into the second half Arrows were finally rewarded as a tired Lalrosanga brought down Rahul Balan inside the box on the 87th minute and the referee pointed to the spot without any second thought.
C.Lalrosanga was sent off following his second yellow card as Aizawl FC were reduced ten men going into the final minutes of the game.
Amarjit Kiyam made no mistake from the spot to steal a last-gasp equalizer on the 89th minute to make it 2-2 for the Arrows. With the points shared Indian Arrows are now placed on 8th spot with 15 points while defending champions Aizawl FC continues their mid-table battle under new Coach, Santosh Kashyap placed at 6th spot with 18 points as they face Shillong Lajong in the north-eastern derby on 19th February 2018 at the JLN Stadium, Shillong.

Aryn Williams 86th minute goal sends NEROCA FC to the top the table

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

Aryn Williams showed how a goal can turn the fortunes of a match as well as a player with his 86th-minute strike late into the game to propel NEROCA FC to top of the I league table.

Except for the goal on the 86th minute, Arny Williams had a game he would not like to remember as it was studded with galore of misses from situations where it is nearly impossible to miss.The first opportunity came as early as 2nd minute As Williams found himself at the end of the cross with no defenders around him but the Australian failed to hit the back of the net despite having the goalkeeper at his mercy.

On the other end, Churchill Brothers had an opportunity to score in the 26th minute as Britto's low cross found Nicholas Fernandes who went for a “Ronaldoesque” back-heel flick between his leg rather than a conventional tap-in to spill an easy chance to get the visitors on the score sheet.

NEROCA's Bosnian forward Nedo Turkovic looked off-colour from the start as he failed to get into spaces behind the Churchill defenders to get into scoring positions.Aryn William again had an opportunity to capitalize on a defensive error of Hussein Eldor as he found himself in a one-on-one situation but his feeble shot went straight into the goalkeeper.

Both teams went into the break with no goals added to their respective sides.In the second half NEROCA Coach Gift Raikhan made two changes and introduced Pritam Singh on the flanks in place of Gopi Singh and Turkovic was replaced by veteran Indian striker Sushil Singh.

Sushil tried his best to win a couple of headers from the towering duo of Sunday and Hussein Eldor but his glancing headers went off the target.

The script of the match could have been narrated and summarized about Aryn Williams missing string goals that are impossible to miss and the NEROCA fans at the stadium were left to exasperation as they seemed to resign to the fate of losing two points at a crucial phase of the title race.

But it all changed in 86th minute as William finally found his scoring boots as he controlled the ball in the box and rolled it past Churchill goalkeeper James Kithan to give NEROCA 1-0 lead as they managed to hold onto the lead for the remaining duration of the game to secure top of the table position as of now with 31 points from 16 games.

Hero I League:East Bengal beats Minerva Punjab FC 1-0 to keep title hopes alive

By Rajarshi Chakrabarty

The Hero I League match between Minerva Punjab FC and East Bengal FC on Tuesday at Tau Devi Lal stadium was a pivotal encounter in the title quest between the two teams. Minerva FC went into the match having pole position in the league table with 29 points from 13 games, while East Bengal had 23 points from 13 games.

In the context of the title chase, the match was at juxtaposition for two teams as a win for East Bengal could bring them within sniffing distance of Minerva FC and oppositely a loss for Minerva FC could mean the title chase to be open for three teams including NEROCA FC.

East Bengal Coach Khalid Jamil started with Mahmoud Al Amnah in the starting lineup pairing with Katsumi and Kevin Lobo in the midfield. Dudu played upfront with Laldanmawaia Ralte and Yami Longvah on both flanks to provide width and aerial supply from the wings.

Minerva Punjab FC started with William Opoku upfront with Chencho and Souvik Das managing both flanks and former East Bengal defensive midfielder Bazi Armand paired with Kassim for the midfield role.

East Bengal came out with purpose as they dominated the early proceedings and fired an early warning on the 19th minute as Kevin Lobo's powerful volley missed the target narrowly. The chance of the first half came on 33rd minute as Dudu found himself with some space in the Minerva half and selflessly played to Yami Longvah who made a good run into the box but Yami failed to score from the one-on-one situation and was substituted soon by Kromah.

East Bengal survived a scare of conceding an own goal in 35th minute when Souvik's harmless cross into the box strayed off Eduardo's header to land on the roof of the net. Both teams went into the halftime having failed to score in the first-45.

In the second half, both teams came out with some intentions as the game opened up for end-to-end to action.0n 46th minute Dudu failed to connect with Salam Ranjan's low cross from the right flank and within moments Bali Gagandeep found himself with space in the box as his left-footed effort was saved by East Bengal keeper Ubaid.

The defining moment of the match came in the 60th minute and it was a moment of sheer class from Kevin Lobo as midfielder collected a backheel pass from Al Amna and rounded off his lace around the ball to unleash a venomous shot from 30 yards out to beat Minerva keeper Rakshit who had little chance to save the screamer.

Minerva stunned by the goal tried to use the flanks and release the long ball to get behind the East Bengal backline in search of an equaliser and the strategy almost payed-off as Chencho found himself in a good shooting position from outside the box but his volley was saved by East Bengal keeper Ubaid which came at a comfortable height.

Chencho was a constant threat to the East Bengal back-four as he managed to get to the end of long balls and managed to round off Eduardo in the box and his quick shot was saved by Ubaid in the near post.

East Bengal had a torrid time containing Chencho's run down the flanks and switching of flanks as he managed to fox the defenders in the box with a clever run on the 85th minute and crossed the ball to William Opoku who was unmarked just outside the six-yard box failed to put his header on target with an open goal in front of him, as chances went unsolicited.

East Bengal managed to hold on to the crucial one-goal lead as they snatched a crucial away win to get their title-chase on track with 26 points from 14 games trailing just three points behind Minerva FC as they head to Kozhikode to face relegation-threatened Gokulam Kerala FC on 17^th February, 2018.