Air Force beat Bhawanipore 2-1,enter semis

With the last semi-final slot still up for grabs,the final group match of the Lieutenant Governors Cup between Indian Air Force and Bhawanipore Club had obvious significance.

With the last semi-final slot still up for grabs,the final group match of the Lieutenant Governors Cup between Indian Air Force and Bhawanipore Club had obvious significance. For the struggling teams a winless Bhawanipore against an off-colour Air Force team it was also a time for making amends. In the end,it turned out to be a dominant show from Air Force that earned them a 2-1 win.

The new-look Air Force team,easily the youngest in the draw,began aggressively and kept up the pressure till the final whistle even after securing the lead. But early in the first half,thoughts of a victory were probably far from their minds as it was the opposition that went ahead. Amit Chakrabortys surprise 18th-minute strike gave Bhawanipore the lead,and though it was against the run of play,the long grounder at the far post was beyond IAF goalkeeper Anil Kumars anticipation as he responded late,deflecting the ball into the net.

LB Victor scored the equaliser in the 29th minute,unleashing a left-footer that disturbed the upper-right corner of the net.

Bhawanipores Amar Ganguly put the ball past the IAF goalkeeper towards the end of the first half,but the linesmans flag ruled it out.

Meanwhile,the IAF midfielders had started combining inside Bhawanipores box,weaving up moves through one-touches to enervate the four-string defence of Soumen Mondal,Kamal Ghosh,Srikanta Mondal and Sankar Das. Giving in to the pressure,Soumen,Sandip Saha and Chakraborty picked up yellow cards in the final ten minutes of the first half.

Post the breather,the complexion of the game remained the same,with Bhawanipores Satish Singh,Chiranjit Roy,Sibu Soren,Ganguly and Chakraborty failing to intrude inside the opponent box. By contrast,the IAF midfielders combined well and moved together with short passes along with Manish Negi and Victor up front. In the 53rd minute,Negi headed in a ball that was brought back into play by Sanjoy Thapas back volley.

Earlier,Indian Nationals defeated Amity United 2-0.

Semi-final line-up: Indian Nationals vs IAF,Amity United vs J&K Bank

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Air Force beat Bhawanipore 2-1,enter semis

With the last semi-final slot still up for grabs,the final group match of the Lieutenant Governors Cup between Indian Air Force and Bhawanipore Club had obvious significance.

With the last semi-final slot still up for grabs,the final group match of the Lieutenant Governors Cup between Indian Air Force and Bhawanipore Club had obvious significance.