Mumbai, May 17 The Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC) started their Reliance Foundation presents Premier League Next Generation Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Chencho Dorji-coached team Sudeva Delhi FC, here on Wednesday.
RFYC were knocked out of the recently-concluded Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) by Sudeva in the semi-final on Thursday last week. However, the team put in an improved and impactful performance as they took three points from the Delhi-based club tonight.
It was a neck-to-neck contest as both teams failed to break the deadlock until the half-time whistle. Sudeva had nearly notched the opener through an incredible free-kick by Seilenthang Lotjem in the 39th minute. The swirling shot missed hitting the woodwork by a whisker and it indicated that the RFDL runners-up might be coming closer to scoring the first goal of the game.
However, RFYC came in with some reinvigorated energy in the second-half and Sanan Mohammed made a smart run to get at the end of a pass from the flank and put it into the back of the net to bag the only strike of the match.
Sudeva tried shaking things up in the second-half, deploying their defender Ashray Bharadwaj to play as a centre-forward late in the game. However, RFYC held on to their lead until the end and commenced their campaign on a positive note.
"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.
"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," he added.
Sudeva coach Dorji conceded that dealing with inconsistency amongst a younger group of players is always challenging. He claimed that his boys needed to catch up to the level that they had done in the RFDL semis last week but assured that they will look to come back stronger in the upcoming fixtures.
"This is football. We should always accept defeat. Maybe this time they were the better team. It's just that we need to learn better," the coach explained.
Sudeva Delhi FC and RFYC next face Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at RCP on May 20.
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