The final of the 2018 edition at the Bambolim Athletic Stadium in Goa was a one-sided affair that was sealed by goals from Lalchhanhima Sailo (14th), two from captain Moirangthem Thoiba Singh (62ndand 68th) and a Hemam Bijio Singh (80th) strike.

Minerva Punjab were in total control of the game as they outfought and outplayed DSK Shivajians who were making their first appearance in the final.

Minerva Punjab fielded the same set of boys who had beaten Aizawl FC in the semi-final. As for DSK Shivajians, Tanmay Sunil Kumar was given a start as he replaced Karan Savio Balami.Bijio Singh and Samson had chances early on for Minerva as Shivajians goalkeeper Rewang Dorjee Lepcha was kept busy.

It was a matter of when Minerva would score and they made it 1-0 in the 14th minute. Their midfielder Lalchhanhima Sailo cut in from the right and took his time before unleashing the sweetest of strikes. It was a pure class by Sailo as he placed his left-foot shot into the corner of the net – leaving Lepcha rooted to his spot. More chances followed. Arjun Sharma and Bijo Singh almost carved open DSK but they held on.

Shivajians coach Ramesh Bista could only look on as his team were thoroughly outplayed by Harpreet Bedi’s young guns. Minerva could have scored a couple more while DSK Shivajians did not have a single shot on target at half-time. The score at half-time was 1-0 in favour of Minerva Punjab.

DSK Shivajians started the second half on a better note compared to the first. Being still in the game, Minerva were made to defend by the Shivajians. But Minerva showed their quality by scoring at the hour mark. Substitute Isra Khan provided the assist as he found plenty of space down the right flank. Khan swung a delicious cross into the box and Thoiba Singh rose above his marker and planted the ball into the net. And they were up 2-0 in the 62nd minute.

DSK had a few chances and the best of them was a header by Zamlunmang whose glancing header was not far off. John Lalfamkima also tried a header that was blocked by Minerva custodian Jaskarenvir Singh.

But it was Minerva who scored again as they went 3-0 up in the 68th minute. Sailo was brought down in the box and Thoiba Singh stepped up and scored from the spot to make it 3-0 with the title all but secured.

But there was time for a fourth as Bijio Singh tapped home from three yards out as they were 4-0 up in the 80th minute. Minerva laid siege to the DSK Shivajians goal but the final score was 4-0 until the final whistle to walk away with the silverware and a hefty cheque of INR 5 Lakhs.

Honour Table:

Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Rewang Dorjee Lepcha (DSK Shivajians)

Highest Scorer: Thoi Singh (Reliance Foundation Young Champs)

MVP of Nike Premier Cup India 2018 Final: Moirangthem Thoiba Singh (Minerva Punjab FC)

Runners-up: DSK Shivajians (INR 1.5 Lakh)

Champions: Minerva Punjab FC (INR 5 Lakh)

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A win for Minerva Punjab will give them a hat-trick of titles, having won the last two editions. DSK Shivajians meanwhile would look to wrap their hands around the trophy for the first time ever. The two teams had to take the tie-breaker route in the semi-finals to get to the final as the Shivajians pipped Bengaluru FC while Minerva Punjab downed Aizawl FC. And the two teams are prepared to give their everything in the final showdown.

“As in the semi-final, it won’t be that easy. It will be a good match to watch for the people who love this game. That is a boost for us also. And definitely, both teams would want to win it. We are preparing for tomorrow and show what we have,” a confident Minerva Punjab coach Harpreet Bedi said. The Minerva youngsters put up a good show throughout the game against Aizawl and the coach feels it was their desire to fight until the end that got them through. “It was pretty tight against Aizawl and the opportunity that our forwards were missing, it changed the feel of the game. In the end, they fought till the penalty shootout, I said to my players that it is not about luck and to keep their concentration and give hundred percent. And here we are,” Bedi added.

Meanwhile, DSK Shivajians are also thrilled to be in their first Nike Premier Cup final and they look back at how far they have got in this tournament. “I have been watching Minerva and they are the toughest in the tournament and they have reached the final. The thinking of our boys is the same as they have been playing throughout the tournament. It’s been tough to play every game and match by match. But we have done it. Our boys have done well and we are positive about the match,” Ramesh Bista said.

He further added: “Our strength is the bonding we have and playing as a team. The boys have done hard work and that is why they are here.” Interestingly, DSK Shivajians won 5-4 in penalties while Minerva Punjab FC won 4-2 after both their games had ended 0-0. That is a scenario that both would be looking to avoid. “We don’t want the game to go into penalties and finish the game before. Because you never know what happens in the shootout but we want to win it in the game. And we are planning to showcase some good football,” Bista suggested.

Both teams have promised good football and it looks to be an interesting match-up. The kick-off is scheduled at 03:30 PM

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Minerva Academy who are also the defending champions having won the inaugural edition have their task cut out when they face Ozone FC. Both the teams have a lot in common, while Ozone FC has found the net 15 times so far conceding just twice in the mean time, Minerva Punjab as too managed to net 13 goals while concedimg just twice themselves.

However, while Ozone marched into the finals brushing past Shillong Lajong 4-1 in the semis, Minerva Punjab were made to struggle against another Bengaluru side Bengaluru FC in an close encounter. Both the teams will be careful of their opponent’s strong defence line when they meet each other for the finals.

The match will be held at Cooperage Stadium, Mumbai with 7 PM kick-off under lights on 10^th Feb. Expect an feisty encounter as Minerva Punjab look to defend their title and get hold of the second consecutive Nike Premier Cup trophy, while Ozone would look to etch their name on the trophy too.

Kick Off: 7:00 PM IST, Friday, 10^th Feb.

Venue: Cooperage Stadium, Mumbai

Also Read: Minerva Punjab FC edge past Bengaluru FC to reach 2nd consecutive final of NPC

An Exhibition Game

An Exhibition game is also in the store for football fans of Mumbai. Early in the day, Former India Football Captain Baichung Bhutia will team up with players of semi-finalists team for a game against All Stars Football Club that will have Bollywood celebrities Abhishek Bachchan and Sidharth Malhotra in their ranks. Be ready to witness a cracker of a contest when the All Stars Football Club take on Bhaichung Bhutia XI at the Cooperage Ground but stay till the end, for the match of the night when Minerva Punjab face Ozone FC in the evenings.

Time: 4:45PM onwards Friday, 10^th Feb.                                             

Venue: Cooperage Stadium, Mumbai

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Ozone FC continued their unbeaten run in the Under-16 Nike Premier cup after they breezed past Shillong Lajong FC in the first semi-final of the day.

After an even opening minutes, Ozone opened the scoring in the 20^th minute through a counter attack on the left, Ozone’s Ignatius John cross resulted in a goalmouth melee inside the box but after the Lajong keeper Akash Thapa managed to save the initial danger the ball once again fell back to the now unmarked Ignatius, who made no mistake in dispatching it to the net with the Goal Keeper off his position.

Eight minutes later, another cross from the right saw Lajong defender handling the ball inside the box conceding a silly penalty, Ozone’s Ajay converted the spot-kick by dispatching the ball to the top-left corner as the keeper judged the wrong way.

Soon Shillong Lajong pulled one back from an attack of their own from the right, Lajong winger ran past couple of defenders before taking a shot from the box which was deflected away by the Ozone keeper Niraj Kumar but only as far as another Lajong forward Parvaj who fired it into the goal to make it 1-2. Both the teams entered the break without troubling the score any further.

Also Read: Mohammed Salim – The first Indian Footballer to Play in Europe

The second half started with Lajong in more attacking mode looking for an equaliser However it was Ozone that found the next. In the 75^th minute, Ignatius John made it 3-1 after Manvir Singh’s initial shot from edged of the box was saved by Akash Thapa.

Nearing the end of the game, another attacking move from Ozone saw Lajong keeper Akash come off his line outside of his box to stop the ball in a one-on-one situation but his decision to jump against onrushing Ozone forward was deemed dangerous as Referee gave him his marching orders. Ozone converted the free-kick thanks to Manvir Singh’s amazing shot as making it 4-1 with just minutes to full time.

The match ended without any further change as Ten-man Shillong Lajong bowed out of the league

Ozone FC – Niraj Kumar(GK), Gurmeet Singh, Oinam Singh, Ajay Alex A, R.K. Chiranjan Singh, Manvir Singh, Umashankar (Kundom Singh 68’), Saurabh Meher (D Dhanush 85’), Rohmingthanga, Mohammed Rasheed, Ignatius John(T.H. Imran Khan 90’)

Bookings- None

Shillong Lajong FC- Akash Thapa(GK), Muhammad Ahmed, Habymmutshum Nongrum, Ramdinmawia Hnamte, Tomonbha lapang, Jeremy Laldinpuia(Bijay Pandey 84’), Samuel Lyngdoh Kynshi(Lallawmkima lallawmkima 90+2’), Baiaikara Swer, Donboklang Lyngdoh, Burnes Raj, Parvaj Bhuiya

Bookings- Yellow – Habymmutshum Nongrum(27’), Jeremy Laldinpuia(20’), Parvaj Bhuiya(85’)

Red – Akash Thapa(90+1)

Final Score: Ozone FC 4 (Ignatius John 20’, 75’, Manvir Singh 90+3’, Ajay Alex 20’) – 1 Shillong Lajong FC- (Parvaj Bhuiya 37’)

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