Hero I-League Week 1 Kicks Off With 5 Games

Week 1 of the Hero I-League kicked off on Saturday 7th January with 2 games being played between East Bengal and Aizawl, ending in a 1-1 draw and Bengaluru and Shillong Lajong, the hosts winning 3-0.

On the Sunday 3 matches were held, Chennai City played out a goalless draw with Minerva Punjab, Mumbai City won 1-0 against DSK Shivajians whilst Mohun Bagan had an identical score line against the other newcomers Churchill Brothers.

The opening game wasn’t a great start for Kolkata giants East Bengal as they only just managed to escape defeat after Ivan Bukenya headed home from a corner in the 90th minute.

The goal levelled the scores after Gurwinder Singh had seen Aizawl take the lead just before halftime with an own goal.

Udanta Singh helped Bengaluru to open their campaign with a perfect start, scoring a brace during their 3-0 win over Shillong Lajong at the Kanteerava Stadium.

The defending champions dominated possession for the most part keeping the ball in the Lajong half and dictating the tempo. Sena Ralte sealed the victory in the 80th minute.

The I-League’s two newcomers Chennai City and Minerva Punjab shared the spoils after their goalless draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Sunday.

The game contained numerous missed opportunities, with Chennai City coming closest.

Mumbai FC clinched all 3 points after their 1-0 win over DSK Shivajians in the first Maharashtra derby at Cooperage Stadium.

A new look Mumbai displayed an attacking style under new coach  Santosh Kashyap and faced a young DSK side who were playing with five under-22 players.

It was a stunning goal from Thoi Singh in the 22nd minute that gave Mumbai their win, after which Laxmikant Kattimani did a sterling job in preventing the visitors from equalising in a closely fought affair.