Good afternoon to one and all, hope you’re all have a spiffing day, I for one am. Just dropping by to give you a round-up of the ISL reserve teams who are currently competing in I-League 2. Now, you’ll recall at some point in the past, that I was wondering what would happen if an ISL’s reserve side won the I-League 2, luckily, we needn’t wonder anymore as I am not the man with the questions anymore, I am now the man with the answers.
Before we get to that, let me break down how it all works. There are three groups, unsurprisingly called Group A, Group B & Group C. If an ISL team wins the group or qualifies for the final round of the competition, their place gets moved onto the team below them. A bit shit if you ask me, but hey, what you gonna do?
Chennaiyin vs Chennaiyin In The AFC Cup?
In all honesty, it does make sense because if Chennaiyin’s second string won the I-League 2 then won the I-League and they also won the ISL, we would end up with Chennaiyin versus Chennaiyin in the AFC Cup and there would be more of an uproar about that then there would be if Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig met in the Europa League, which could still happen incidentally.
Enough rambling, let’s get down to the action. Six ISL teams played Fri-Sun and only two of them won, all swings and roundabouts, I guess. ISL reserve sides have to field an all-Indian side whereas other teams can register up to three foreign players, so don’t be too shocked if you don’t recognise any of the goalscorers.
Jamshedpur clashed with Chennaiyin on Friday and the attendance of over 6,000 were not left disappointed with what they saw. A goal inside ten minutes from Gorachand Mamdi gave the home side the lead, that’s Jamshedpur by the way. In an apparent two fingers to the senior side, Jamshedpur then conceded thirteen minutes later as Bedashwor levelled. You see, it’s only two fingers to Coppell’s side because they are so good defensively, so if you’re looking for something more cynical, you’re not going to get it!
Delhi Found No Luxuries in Kashmir
Seven minutes before the interval, Gourav Mukhi put the ‘Men Of Steel’ back in the ascendancy and he had no problem doubling his tally not too long after the break as Jamshedpur went 3-1 up. The game was not over yet though as Rohimingthanga pulled one back for Chennai to set up a grandstand finale. Fortunately for Jamshedpur, they held on for a precious three points.
Saturday saw two games take place and we’ll begin with Delhi’s trip to the beautifully named Real Kashmir. Ifham Tariq Mir and Kouassi Yao scored either side of the interval to give Real Kashmir a two-nil win. That win sends Real Kashmir to the top of Group A and I think I’m going to nail my colours to the mast and say I want them to win promotion. Up the Kashmir!
FC Goa’s reserve side took part in the other game featuring an ISL reserve side on Saturday; by the time the halftime whistle was blown, the ‘Gaurs’ would’ve been wishing it was all over as Fateh Hyderabad raced into a two-goal lead, with the goals coming from Godwin Quashiga and Sushil Meitel.
FC Goa Comeback From Two Down Only To Lose It
However, much like their senior team, Goa didn’t take it lying down and with just under fifteen minutes left on the clock it was honours even as Liston Colaco and Aaren D Silva (yes he’s Indian) clawed it back.
Sometimes, things aren’t meant to be and this seemed to be one of those occasions as Don Tshering Lepcha netted a 93rd-minute winner to send the minuscule crowd into raptures. It was a great scalp for Hyderabad as they finally got off the mark for the season at the third time of asking.
We’re no moving swiftly on to Sunday where we see another pair of games. Real Kashmir’s fierce rivals Lonestar Kashmir had a home tie against Pune and it was arguably the game of the weekend. At halftime, it was 1-0 to Pune due to the fact that Chesterpoul Lyngdoh netted with only seven minutes on the clock.
I’m Not Saying Aakif Javaid Is The Devil, But…
Devil’s number is apparently sixty-six and that was precisely the minute that the game burst into life as Lonestar equalised through Aakif Javaid. He then put Lonestar into the lead six minutes later, what a turnaround! Once more though, the game flipped on its head as fourteen minutes after going 2-1 down, Pune were 3-2 up!
A second from Chesterpoul and one from Yadav Rahul meant that it seemed Lonestar would have to wait until their third game of the season to get off the mark points-wise. All of a sudden, Aakif Javaid popped up again to get his and Lonestar’s third to cap a superb individual performance. If only the rest of the lads could follow suit, eh?
Kerala Blasters are out last hosts of this review and they made incredibly light work of Madhya Bharat. In Group B, you’ve got Kerala Blasters and Kerala, just to make things more confusing! They haven’t played one another yet, but that’s certainly one to watch out for. Kerala (not Blasters) beat Madhya Bharat 3-0 which sort of set the benchmark for the Blasters and boy oh boy did they surpass that benchmark.
Madhya Got Blasted
Madhya Bharat got well and truly blasted as Ananthu Murali got the opener in the thirteenth minute of the game. Unlucky for some. This time, it was Madhya it was unlucky for. After that, it was all one-way traffic as Shaiborlang Karpan got himself a treble and Sahal Abdul Samad chipped in with a brace to make the final score SIX-nil.
That’s pretty much it for now, the reserve round-up might become a prominent feature or it might not, that’s all down to you and what you think. If you want it, we’ll serve it. If you don’t, we’ll give you something else!
Until the next time.
