Club Atletico Paraneanse taught a few lessons on their way to beating Government High School 6-1 before entering the final of the 57th edition of the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament at the Dr. Ambedkar Stadium here today.
The Brazil side will take on the Army Boys Coy from Bengaluru, who handed out a facile 1-0 win over the Haryana boys in Saturday’s final.
And the Paraneanse boys will have a great outside support from Rivaldo, the great Brazilian midfielder. No doubt, the legend’s presence as a guest of honour will be Advantage to Club Atletico.
Even otherwise, their boys have shown excellent understanding on the field so far and have functioned like a well-oiled machine at work. And it was no different today as their excellent defence and the forward line stuck cohesion and made life for the Mizoram boys miserable.
Pedro was the first to sound a warning with a fine goal in the ninth minute. It was an indication of what to expect when it comes to pure business. Moving in swiftly and keeping maximum ball possession, the Atletico boys sent in measure short passes. It was the percentage play that fetched his next goal when P.S. Victor found the target after receiving a short pass from the midfield in the 17th minute. Soon Thiago Andre struck in the 29th minute to make it a comfortable 3-0 lead as the team went in for a well-deserved break.
After the change of ends, Victor scored once again in the 58th minute and four minutes later, Mizoram found the target for the first and only time when Lalrintlunga to reduce the margin. Kennedy proved his worth when the opportunity presented him twice within five minutes and with a fine placement to score the team’s fifth goal in the 67th and added to their opponents’ woes one more goal in the last minute just before the whistle.
Haryana boys overcome Bengaluru in a tame affair
In contrast, the match between Haryana and the Bengaluru team was too overcautious and boring. There were too many aimless passes and wild shots at the goal which were never intended to go past the goalkeepers. After wasting 35 minutes in the first barren half, one thought some purposeful football will be played in the second session.
Unfortunately, it was not to be at least until the 56th minute. Making the most of a loose ball sent in from the right flank, TH Premjit Singh struck to the jubilation of Army Boys Coy.
Dip Majumdar, their main striker shadowed like anything by their rivals, along with Ankit Gupta received yellow cards for being frustrated and rough. Similarly, there were two yellows cards shown to Haryana with Rupane and Sahil suffering from their foul play.
