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

The post Minerva Punjab Face Ozone FC in the 2nd Nike Premier Cup Final appeared first on Football Counter.

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’)

The post Ozone FC romp into final with a 4-1 win over Shillong Lajong FC in U16 Nike Premier Cup appeared first on Football Counter.