MARGAO
In a day of one-sided quarter-final matches, Minerva Academy from Punjab blanked Sreenidhi Deccan 4-0 and Bengaluru FC hammered Football 4 Change of Manipur 6-1 to storm into the semi-finals of the Dream Sports Championships-AIFF junior league, on Saturday.
In the morning at the Don Bosco ground in Margao, the swift footed and technically superior Minerva team ran circles around the hapless Sreenidhi Deccan side. K Chetan Singh, Punshiba Meetei, L Haokip and Z. Ramung kept the scorer busy for the Minerva team.
In the evening game at the Raia ground, the Bengaluru FC and Football 4 Change scored a goal each in the first 15 minutes, promising a close match. However, the Football 4 Change team soon wilted under the sustained attacks made by the Bengaluru forwards, who scored at will. For Bengaluru, Hrishikesh Manavathi scored a hat-trick of goals, Samwanki Lato scored two goals and Nithin Badri scored in the 42nd minute. A heavy downpour in the second half provided welcome relief from the sweltering heat.
