(Football news) Sudeva eliminated RFYC from the recently finished Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL). But tonight, the group outperformed itself and effectively took three points away from the Delhi-based club. Both teams couldn’t break the tie until the halftime siren, making it a close game. In the 39th minute, an amazing free kick by Seilenthang Lotjem came within inches of giving Sudeva the lead. The RFDL runners-up appeared to be getting closer to scoring the game’s opening goal when their spinning attempt narrowly missed hitting the woodwork.
Sanan Mohammed made a cunning move to intercept a pass from the flank and placed it into the goal to record the game’s lone goal for RFYC, who entered the second half with some renewed vigour. Ashray Bharadwaj, a defender for Sudeva, was used late in the game to play as a centre striker in an attempt to change things up. However, RFYC started their campaign on a strong note and maintained their lead until the very end.
“I am extremely proud of the boys for getting this win. We worked really hard tonight and all the hard work made the difference in the end. We won the second balls, the 50-50 duels and finally scored that goal,” RFYC coach Arata Izumi reflected on the performance of his boys after the game. He added, “It was a great mental and physical battle and we could overcome this strong opponent. It’s a pretty unique case that we get an opportunity to play the same team in a very close competition in such a short notice.”
Coach Dorji of Sudeva acknowledged that managing inconsistency among a younger bunch of players is never easy. He asserted that his team must catch up to the performance level they demonstrated in the RFDL semifinals last week, but he gave the assurance that they will work to improve in the following games. “This is football. We should always accept the defeat. Maybe this time they were the better team. It’s just that we need to take better learning,” the coach explained.
On May 20, Saturday, Sudeva Delhi FC and RFYC will play Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
Brief Scores
RFYC 1 (Sanan Mohammed 45’) – 0 Sudeva Delhi FC
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