Aizawl FC suffer shock defeat to Dinthar FC in MFA's Independence Day Football Tournament
THE INDEPENDENCE DAY Football Tournament kicked off in Aizawl today with much fanfare and two hard-fought football games featuring high profile teams.
Aizawl FC, the reigning Champions of India, suffered a shock defeat to Mizoram Premier League side Dinthar FC in their first match of the tournament.
They started the game well, taking an early lead through their newly signed foreign striker Kareem Omoloja 16 minutes in. But Dinthar did not let up, hounding the top division champions with incessant counters. It did not take long for them to get even; Hlutea scored 27 minutes in.
From here, the game saw a teeth-grinding battle of back and forth attacks till the end of the match and in added time, Dinthar got the last laught when Lalnunsanga scored a brilliant goal sealing a 2-1 victory for them.
Dinthar FC spent a good bit of money in the local transfer market this summer, picking up some of the best strikers in the state for their upcoming Mizoram Premier League campaign, and their efforts seem to be paying off if this game is anything to go by.
In the other match of the day, the AIFF U-19 team (consisting mostly of the India U-19 squad) played out a hard fought 1-1 draw with another Mizoram Premier League side Ramhlun North. The local team got an early lead in the very first minute when Lalliansanga scored for them. But after chasing the game for majority of the match, AIFF U-19 finally got themselves back in the contest when Lalawmpuia scored a goal in the 78th minute.
The Independence Day Football Tournament, a cup competition organized by the Mizoram Football Association (MFA) held early in the season by Mizoram Football Association, pits the best teams from the Mizoram Premier League against teams invited from other parts of the country. This season, the tourney is attracting extra attention because of Aizawl FC's status as the I-League champions. But their first match against Dinthar showed that football talent in Mizoram is deep and spread evenly throughout the local league.
The two matches played on the first day saw 5 goals being scored, 4 of them from Indian players, all of whom happen to be from Mizoram.
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