Bengaluru FC leaves it late to beat Kerala Blasters 2-0 to win the Southern Derby

ISL League leaders Bengaluru FC maintained their domination as they beat Kerala Blasters FC with two late goals from Miku(91')and Udanta Singh(93') at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday.
Bengaluru started the domination from the start as Sunil Chhetri unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from 30 yards out to miss the target narrowly past diving Paul Rachubka to test Kerala goalkeeper early in the game.
Kerala had their first real opportunity in the 13th minute when Arata Izumi released Jackichand Singh with a long ball on the left flank.Jackichand cut back nicely and to deliver a grounded cross but CK Vineeth failed to make any connection with the ball.
As Bengaluru FC kept the Kerala defense under the pressure, Nishu Kumar found himself in a good scoring position after collecting the loose ball from Sunil's blocked shot as Kerala defenders put bodies in the line.But the left-back failed to connect properly and blazed the shot wide of the target.
Boithang Haokip's volley on 43rd minute had venom in it but it was headed straight to the keeper as Bengaluru kept mounting the pressure on the Kerala defense.
Miku found himself in space in the additional time of the first half but an alert Kerala defense averted the danger as Sandesh Jhingan's timely interception dispossessed the striker.
Both sides went into the break at 0-0.
Back in the second half, the first real chance fell to Udanta Singh as a weak clearance from Sandesh Jhinghan was picked up by Toni Dovale and delivered a measured cross into the box found Udanta sneaking into the box unmarked.But the Manipuri lad failed to direct the header onto the goal and headed it wide as Bengaluru FC looked desperately for an opening goal in front of their home fans.
Miku had an opportunity to score in the 88th minute as the Venezuelan forward found himself with space down the right flank and charged into the box but pulled his narrowly wide of the far post.
The striker was presented with a similar opportunity just three minutes later as Daniel Segovia played it onto Miku and the forward made adjustment to his previous shot to work his angles right as he finished it off brilliantly with a diagonal shot to give Bengaluru FC 1-0 lead on the 91st minute.
Bengaluru FC did not allow Kerala Blasters to regroup as they struck within 2 minutes from a brilliant strike off Udanta Singh who collected the pass from Delgado Dimas on the edge of the box and was presented with space as Lalruatthara did not press Udanta.Udanta unleashed a brilliant left-footed shot at the bottom right corner to beat the keeper as Kerala found themselves 2-0 down within 3 minutes of added time.
Bengaluru FC scripted an important win beating Kerala Blasters to win the bragging rights in the Southern Derby as they sit comfortably on the top of the table having amassed 40 points.

ANFA hands Nepal National Team Coach Gyotoku Koji contract extension till February 2019.

All Nepal Football Association(ANFA) has extended the contract of National Team Coach  Gyotoku Koji by another year after the initial contract ended in February 2018 that would see his term being extended to February 2019.
 Gyotoku Koji who was appointed as the Head Coach of Nepal under the Japan-Nepal co-operation program Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in March 2016 has decent success with the national team, most notably winning the AFC Solidarity Cup in November 2016.
Head Coach Koji has set his target on SAFF Championship 2018 as his immediate target to make Nepal champions as Koji added that Nepal has improved technically but still needs to keep the good work going.
ANFA has also extended the contract of Technical Director Chiaki Takeda who will also have an added responsibility as a technical representative of  Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide technical assistance to strengthen and promote Nepalese football.The Technical Department in liaison with JICA would be responsible for "strengthening Nepalese football through establishing Coach education system, strengthening the U-14  men's and women's football team, grass root level development of footballers" added ANFA President Narendra Shrestha.

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

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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.