I-League: Chencho's late goal sinks Indian Arrows, extends Minerva's lead on top of table

Ludhiana, December 18: Chencho Gyeltshen struck late into the game as Minerva Punjab beat an inexperienced Indian Arrows 1-0 to extend their lead on the top of the table in the I-League on Monday (December 18).

The defeat was Arrows' second one against Minerva this season, having lost 0-2 against the same opponents a few weeks ago in Goa.

Gyeltshen's 80th minute strike turned out to be the difference between the two sides in the hard-fought battle at the Guru Nanak Stadium.

GOAL! @Che7cho dribbles past two Indian Arrows defenders and strikes it home to give @Minerva_AFC the lead. #HeroILeague #MPFCvARW pic.twitter.com/d6v5uLAXf2

— Hero I-League (@ILeagueOfficial) December 18, 2017

Khogen Singh made three changes from their 2-1 win over Chennai City FC. Rakshit Dagar made his way into the lineup for Arshdeep Saini in goal. Sukhdev Singh and Amandeep Singh also came in as Lago Bei was relegated to the bench.

After a break of 13 days, Arrows' coach Luis Norton de Matos made two alterations to his side.

Abhijit Sarkar and Aniket Jadhav were benched, while West Bengal duo Rahim Ali and Abhishek Halder were ushered into the first eleven.

The Portuguese chose to go with four men at the back.

📹 | We're just minutes away from our kickOff and #MPFCUltras are loud and proud backing the #Minervans ❗ #MPFCvARW pic.twitter.com/ZD3ilNMsEq

— MINERVA PUNJAB FC (@Minerva_AFC) December 18, 2017

Goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem had a backline of Boris Singh Thangjam, Deepak Tangri, Jitendra Singh and Sanjeev Stalin lining up in front of him.

Suresh Singh Wangjam, Amarjit Singh Kiyam and Halder played in a tight-knit three-man midfield.

On-loan from Bengaluru FC, striker Edmund Lalrindika was deployed centrally and he had Rahul Kannoly Praveen and Rahim Ali offering him support from the flanks.

While Minerva Punjab had the lion's share of possession in the first half, the team of assembled Indian teenagers did appear a spirited lot by keeping the early danger in check.

Girik Mahesh Khosla and William Opoku kept on piling the pressure but neither of them were able to find the back of the net.

What a player @Che7cho is turning out to be! A brilliant goal from the Bhutanese to probably win the day for @Minerva_AFC !!!!!@ILeagueOfficial #MPFCvARW #HeroILeague

— Anubhav Roda (@anubhav_roda) December 18, 2017

It was Ivorian defender Guy Eric Dano who caused the first real trouble when his volleyed attempt hit the upright.

In a see-saw second half where the Arrows had far better possession, the teenagers were just not able to break the robust Minerva backline, but Rahul Kannoly had one attempt to lob in the opener from a through ball but goalkeeper Rakshit Dagar came off with a brilliant sliding clearance.

The second half began on a promising note for Indian Arrows. They started to get into the rhythm of the game. They had more of the ball, but still couldn't penetrate the strong Minerva Punjab defence.

Indian Arrows had the chance of the match in 53rd minute when Rahul came running down from the right wing, going one-on-one with Minerva Punjab goalkeeper Rakshit, who came out of his line and managed to put the ball out of danger.

Minerva Punjab on the other hand capitalized on their chance in the 80th minute when Chencho scored after sending two defenders wrong way inside their own box. He struck a powerful low drive into the right corner of the net, giving no chance to Dheeraj.

Minerva Punjab then held on and gave Indian Arrows no chance to come back in the game.

Minerva are now on 13 points in 5 matches. They are unbeaten in the league so far.

(With inputs from AIFF Media)