Lalhmingchhuanga, Emboklang And Lalpekhlua On Target As Bengaluru FC Secure 3-0 Win And Entry To Semifinals
Bengaluru FC breezed past SESA FA after goals from Lalpekhlua (31’), Emboklang Nongkhlaw (50’) and Lalhmingchhuanga F (52’) ensured a victory for the Blue Colts in their penultimate group stage encounter of the U18 JSW Youth Cup, at the JSW Township, in Bellary, on Monday.
The Blue Colts dominated proceedings from kick-off and nearly scored in the opening ten minutes when Emboklang saw his effort go wide of the mark. The hosts kept knocking on the door, as Yaiphathoi and Lalpekhlua linked up well in the final third.
Lalpekhlua finally broke the deadlock after a pass from Lalhmingchhuanga found the forward, who smashed it past Harshit Upadhyay with his first touch to make it 1-0 on the half hour mark. Sachin Badadhe’s side came close to doubling their lead only moments later when a corner fell kindly for Anish Mazumder, but the defender’s effort was parried away by the goalkeeper.
Into the second half, the Blue Colts wasted little time to add to their lead, scoring twice inside the first ten minutes. Lalpekhlua’s inch-perfect cross for Emboklang allowed the midfielder to score with a flying header in the 50th minute, before individual brilliance from Lalhmingchhuanga saw him cut through the SESA FA backline and slot past Harshit.
Bengaluru FC looked to further extend their lead when they won a free-kick right outside the 18 yard-box. Rajanbir Singh stepped up and struck it low, but his effort was saved by Harshit, who was called into action on multiple occasions for the rest of the game.
The Blue Colts brought on fresh legs in Bankitlyngkor Diengdoh, Basudev CM, Tomthinganba Sanjenbam and Vinith Venkatesh and continued to put pressure on the SESA FA backline.
The result meant curtains for SESA FA’s JSW Youth Cup campaign, as Bengaluru FC qualified alongside Dempo SC, Reliance Foundation Young Champs and Roundglass Punjab FC for the semifinals.
The Blue Colts take on Roundglass Punjab FC in their final group stage encounter of the U18 JSW Youth Cup at the same venue, on March 23rd.
