I-League champions Aizawl FC registered a 2-1 win over Churchill Brothers in the ongoing 38th edition of the Hero Federation Cup in Cuttack, Odisha on Tuesday to become the first team to secure a semi-final spot from Group A.
Lalram Chullova's 21st-minute penalty strike for Aizawl was cancelled out by Ghanefo Kromah's 84th-minute penalty strike. But Laldanmawia Ralte's 89th-minute header settled the tie in Aizawl's favour.
The only real action in the first fifteen minutes was a Kamo Bayi shot in the 6th minute, the game was brought to life in the 21st minute when Aizawl FC were awarded a penalty.
Lalruatthra was brought down by Adil Khan, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Chullova stepped up and slotted the ball into the right corner to hand Aizawl the lead.
Albino Gomes kept out Brandon Fernandes's shot a minute later as the Goan outfit searched for the equaliser. Syrian import Mahmoud Al amna joined the duo of Jayesh Rane and Bayi upfront and his presence and ability to take the ball in the final third gave Churchill's defence a tough time.
Churchill enjoyed healthy spells of possession in the final third in the second half but could not make anything out of it. With Aizawl playing cautiously in an attempt to nullify any chance for their opponents at goal, their midfield dropped back to make up numbers.
Churchill were awarded a penalty in the 84th minute and Kromah stepped up to score with confidence and level proceedings as the scoreline read 1-1. But Ralte spoiled Churchill's party as his header in the 89th minute found the back of the net to give Aizawl the advantage.
Robin Singh struck twice to help East Bengal defeat Chennai City FC 2-0 and register their first win in the 38th Federation Cup football tournament in Cuttack on Tuesday. Chennai City FC slumped to their second defeat of the tournament and find themselves at the bottom of the table.
Robin scored in the added time of the first half and in the 76th minute to guide East Bengal to a hard-earned win. East Bengal pressed for an early goal and almost took the lead in the sixth minute when Narayan Das' header was cleared off the line after Karanjit Singh had come out to clear a dangerous cross.
Seven minutes later, Karanjit was in the thick of action again as he parried Robin's left-footed shot from 25 yards. Robin then capitalised on a sloppy clearance from the Chennai defence and scored from inside the box to give East Bengal the lead going into half-time.
Chennai looked more comfortable on the ball once the second half kicked-off and attacked with fluidity. In the 53rd minute, Debabrata Roy's free kick rattled the crossbar.
In the 72nd minute, Karanjit made a save again to deny Robin's header from close range. The second goal for East Bengal came when Robin converted from the spot after Ravanan's handball inside the box.