Durand Cup Semifinal: Army Green edge past Aizawl FC in Penalty shootout

by Chittu Shetty September 9, 2016

Army Green edge past Aizawl FC in Penalty Shootout after an Enthralling 120 minutes ended with both sides locked at 3-3.

A dramatic semifinal was in witness with goals galore for the audience at the last minutes of the game. After an even first twenty minutes, where both sides tried to control the midfield, Army Green took the lead in the 23rd minute. Bikash Budhathoki converting a throw in to a goal through a well taken cycle kick. The First half ended with Army green leading 1-0.

Second half started on the similar note but soon Aizawl tried putting pressure on Army green. After seeing just one goal scored in 72 minutes fans got to witness a crazy eight minutes as three goals were scored within that period. It started with continuous pressure from Aizawl FC reaping reward as in the 73^rd minute; a good cross from Albert was headed home by Bright Mends to bring back the game on level terms. Few minutes late, A penalty for Aizawl Fc resulted with Chullova taking the score to 2-1, but soon it got 2—2 through a Bikram Adhikari Goal.

Also Read: Durand Cup Semifinals: Neroca FC outclass DSK shivajians 3-0

Ninety minutes ended with scores tied at 2-2 and the match went to extra time, A minute in to the extra time and Army went ahead a second time through Herojit Singh before scores were leveled back again, Bright Mends getting a second equalizer of the night for his team. The first half of Extra time ended with 3-3 score line, while in the second half both teams looked tired and chasing the ball as 120 minutes of football resulted in a stalemate.

In the end Army Green won in the shootout, converting all four of its attempts while Aizawl could only manage two. A dramatic end to the night, with Aizawl FC and DSK Shivajians getting knocked out by Non I league teams.

Result (semifinals): Army Green 3 (Bikash Budhathoki, Bikram Adhikari, Herojit Singh) bt Aizawl FC 3 (Bright Mends 2, Lalramchullova) via shootout (4-2)