AIFF Academy win U-18 I-League

AIFF Elite Academy defeated East Bengal 2-1 in the U-18 I-League final at the Barasat Stadium here on Sunday.

AIFF Academy scored twice in the first half through Lalengmawia (15th minute) and Namgyal Bhutia (42nd) after Bidyashagar Singh (14th) had put East Bengal in the lead.

This was AIFF Academy's third successive title in the age group football tournament.

"I do not have enough words to thank the players who spared no effort to ensure this victory. It was a very good match and either team could have won," AIFF Academy coach Floyd Pinto said after the match.

"My players were determined to win and did not bow to the pressure. They did what was expected from them and emerged victorious in the end," he added.

Both teams maintained a high tempo in the opening 45 minutes, creating quite a few chances.

East Bengal enjoyed the upper hand during the early stages. AIFF Academy did well but could not penetrate the East Bengal defence.

Having missed a few half chances, East Bengal took the lead in the 14th minute after Bidyashagar slotted a right footer home from inside the penalty box.

However, AIFF Academy's response came in the very next minute as Lalengmawia scored from skipper Edmund Lalrindika's pass to level the scores.

The equaliser was the turning point of the game for AIFF Academy who adopted a more adventurous approach and came tantalisingly close to taking the lead in the 29th minute through Roshan Singh.

East Bengal, meanwhile, had a chance through Suranjit Singh but the striker fired wide from close range.

AIFF Academy shot into the lead three minutes from half-time when Namgyal converted a penalty after East Bengal defender Rahul Ghosh brought Edmund down inside the penalty box.

The second half belonged to East Bengal who controlled the game from the defence to attack. Few minutes into the game, Suranjit almost levelled for his side but his effort was saved from goal-line.

East Bengal again went extremely close on two occasions midway through the half. First, it was Lalcchanhima whose attempt from outside was denied by AIFF goalkeeper Aditya Patra in the 67th minute.

Then the young custodian followed it up with another save, this time to block Prakash Sarkar who smashed a powerful low drive from close range two minutes later.

AIFF Academy, on the other hand, did create some decent moves but the East Bengal defence worked well to thwart their every single attempt.

There were moments of anxiety for both teams in the closing stages but AIFF Academy produced a solid defensive performance to protect their lead to clinch the silverware.

--IANS

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