Group A Round 3 Results Of Federation Cup

Round 3 of the 38th Hero Federation Cup kicked off on Thursday with two matches taking place between Chennai City and Churchill Brothers and Aizawl and East Bengal.

The first match at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, ended in a 3-1 victory for Chennai, their first win, leaving them to end their campaign on a victorious note, whilst also knocking the Goans from the tournament.

The first half was played cautiously by both sides, with Churchill dominating possession. But it was Chennai that opened the scoring in the 18th minute after former Pune FC player Dhanpal Ganesh, rushed past Bengal’s defensive forces to eventually get the better of the goalkeeper Naveen Kumar.

The lead was doubled in the 61st minute after Nandhakumar assisted Edwin Vanspaul as the latter did well to cut past Churchill Brothers’ defenders and then turn to shoot at the goal. The low shot sending the ball into the back of the net.

The victory was sealed in the 79th minute. Dhanpal Ganesh shot at the goal but  goalkeeper Shahin Lal punched the ball away only for the rebound to fall to Brazilian attacker Charles De Souza who made the most of the bounce as he stormed the delivery into the back of the net.

Churchill Brothers managed a consolation goal 2 minutes later as they won themselves a penalty kick following a challenge inside the penalty box, which saw Brandon Fernandes being brought down by Joseph Clemente. Brandon stepped up for the set-piece and made no mistake in denying Shahin Lal of the clean-sheet.

The match result meant Aizawl FC and East Bengal would go through to the semi-finals of the 2017 Federation Cup from Group A.  Their match played at the same stadium later that evening was an insipid performance and ended in a goalless draw.