Super Cup: Punjab football club lose 3-1

Chandigarh, April 9

RoundGlass Punjab FC (RGPFC) suffered a 3-1 loss against Kerala Blasters FC (KBFC) in their opening match of the Super Cup-2023, at EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Saturday. Dimitrios Diamantakos, Nishu Kumar and Rahul KP found the net for the team from Kerala, while Krishnananda Singh scored the consolation goal for the RGPFC.

RGPFC Head Coach Staikos Vergetis named a strong line up for their first match after securing the I-League trophy. The RGPFC started with Hmingthanmawia and Suresh Meitei as midfielders, while Khaimingthang Lhungdim and Mohammed Salah were the wing-backs. The RGPFC were able to maintain possession in the initial exchanges and were withstanding the pressure from both the field and the stands as the home team had a huge Manjappada support in the stands. The first chance of the half came for the KBFC, when a Vibin Mohanan set piece was met by Victor Mongil, but the defender mistimed his jump and the attempt went wide. Both teams were playing with attacking intent as they were creating chances in both halves of the pitch. Juan Mera showed his class as he went on a solo run deceiving two KBFC defenders with his cheeky skill but a timely interception from the defender made sure the score remained goalless.

KBFC broke the deadlock in the 41st minute through a penalty from Dimitrios Diamantakos. Saurav Mandal was fouled inside the box by Khaimingthang Lhungdim and the penalty was converted by the Greek forward wrong-footing the RGPFC keeper.

Coach Vergetis brought in Krishnananda Singh for Maheson to shore up the wings for the RGPFC in the second half. The Punjab club had a good shout for a penalty in the 52nd minute, when Krishnananda was brought down, but the referee did not budge to the particular play.

The KBFC doubled their lead in the 54th minute through Nishu Kumar. Mandal attacked through the right flank and cut back a cross to the centre of the box which was missed by Sahal Abdul Samad but it fell for Nishu Kumar whose first-time shot found the top corner.

The KBFC looked to dictate the pace of the match but the RGPFC were playing with intent to close the gap. They had a chance in the 70th minute as Luka Majcen and Krishnananda Singh combined but they failed to convert. The RGPFC halved the deficit soon after in the 74th minute. Mera showed his silky skills and crossed the ball from the right flank to find Krishnananda Singh, who finished expertly keeping the game alive.

The KBFC slowed down the game by bringing in Leskovic and Jeakson Singh while the RGPFC brought in fresh legs in the form of Ajay Chhetri and Ashis Pradhan. Rahul had a chance to finish the game in the 90th minute.