Classic and Minerva maintain perfect record, Speed Force bag first win

by Chittu Shetty June 26, 2024

Classic Football Academy and Minerva Academy FC were the big winners in the group stage fixtures of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship 2023-24 being played at the Swarnim Gujarat Sports University in the Vadodara district of Gujarat on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

Classic stop Nyenshen on their tracks

Classic Football Academy recorded their second win in Group A with a comprehensive 6-3 demolition of Nyenshen FC. An early goal from Yendrembam Rohit Singh, from a Chuingampou Kamei cutback, set the tone for the first half, where Classic raced into a four-goal lead. Goals by Renedy Singh (10′) and Lanngamba Singh (11′, 13′) established their dominance in the first half. Nyenshen sneaked in a goal right at the death though, via Lamsanggin Hangsing to keep their hopes alive.

That goal sparked a mini comeback of sorts as they struck twice in succession via Kevisalie and Chingthaipou early in the second half to ramp the pressure up on Classic. Stung by those goals though, the Manipur side regained control of the game and wrapped up the victory when Kamei got a deserved goal in the 33rd minute. Lanngamba completed his hat trick right at the end of time to add a cherry to what was a comfortable victory.  

Minerva Academy roll on

In the second game of the day, Minerva Academy FC put Satvir FC to the sword, knocking up a 9-2 victory. Despite the overwhelmingly one-sided scoreline, in reality, the first half was highly competitive, with little separating the sides. Himanshu Jangra opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Within two minutes though, Haryana’s Satvir FC hit back via Pawan finishing off a sweeping move. Jangra’s second in the 15th minute was similarly cancelled out by Ramandeep Singh’s brilliant finish from a tight angle. With barely a minute to play in the half, Minerva’s Andrew Wengipreye scored the goal that gave his side a narrow lead at the break. The second half played out to a different tune, as Minerva racked up six answered goals (Samson Keishing 21′, 26′, Thongkhongmayum Naoba 22′, Ankit Deswal 24′, Chanpreet Singh Bhui 33′ and Himanshu Thapa 34′) to run out comfortable winners.

Speed Force edge seven-goal thriller

In the final game of the day, Speed Force edged Ambelim Sports Club 4-3, despite having gone down by two goals within the first ten minutes of the game. Ambelim Sports Club made a blistering start, Clive Miranda’s individual brilliance giving them the lead in the 3rd minute. A second in the 10th by Fredsan Marshall portended a one-sided encounter. It wasn’t to be.

First, Mohammed Ahtesham Ali pulled one back with a tap-in in the 13th before Kiran Gaddam scored an equaliser right at the stroke of half-time. In the second half, the back and forth continued without either side breaking through. With 10 to play, Ali’s second seemed to have settled the encounter only for Ambelim’s Michael Dias to equalise within two minutes. A winner from Sachin Bangera with six minutes to play settled the encounter and gave Speed Force their first points of the tournament.

Wednesday, June 26th Fixtures:
12:00 IST: Millat FC vs Nyenshen FC
14:30 IST: Electric Veng FC vs Minerva Academy FC
17:00 IST: Baroda FA vs Ambelim SC
19:30 IST: JCT FA vs Delhi FC

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