Real Kashmir stun holders Minerva Punjab in I-League

PANCHKULA: Real Kashmir, the first team from the Valley to participate in India's top football league, I-League, made a dream debut on Wednesday, shocking defending champions Minerva Punjab FC 1-0 at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here. Gnohere Krizio's second-half goal guaranteed Real Kashmir FC all three points in an evenly-contested tie.
Minerva made two changes to their starting line-up that drew 0-0 against Churchill Brothers.Nongdamba Naorem and Manandeep Singh were replaced in the starting XI by Makan Chothe and Kouame Alexandre.
Real Kashmir coach David Robertson fielded his side in a 3-5-2 formation. He had his son Mason Robertson, Goan Brian Mascarenhas and local boy Muhammad Hammad in the defence.
The match started on a scrappy note as both the teams lacked discipline in the midfield. Neither team was able to string three-four passes going forward. Minerva's Ghanaian midfielder, William Opoku, had the first good chance, but Real Kashmir's goalkeeper Bilal did well and saved his shot at the near post.
Against the run of play, Kashmir managed to get one shot on target after Krizo laid off a wonderful ball for Katebe who tested Bhaskar Roy. The goalkeeper had to make a full-stretched effort to save the goal.
Minerva slowly started to gain foothold during the closing stages of the first half as Opoku combined well with Makan Chothe on a couple of occasions, but the youngster was caught offside. In the final minutes of the first half, he skipped past his marker before testing Bilal, but the player of the match did well to deny him.
Minerva carried on their momentum and started brightly after the break. Akash Sangwan's cross from the left flank was brilliantly directed towards the goal by Alexandre, but the crossbar came to the rescue of Robertson's side. In the very next minute, it was Opoku who managed to weave some space for himself to pull the trigger, but Bilal was equal to the task and denied the Ghanaian.
Minerva were creating plenty of chances, but failed to convert them. Paul Munster made quick changes, bringing in youngsters Nongdamba Naorem, Dilliram Sanyasi and Hitova Ayemi to inject more pace and flair into the game, but the Kashmir defence led by Mason held solid.
Then, in a subtle change of tactics, Robertson brought in midfielder Vicky Meitei in place of Hammad, bolstering his midfield. The move paid dividends in the 73rd minute, quite against the run of play. Off a free kick inside the Minerva half, Krizo got hold of the ball inside the box, turned and unleashed a powerful drive which beat Minerva goalie Bhaskar Roy at the near post.
The goal spurred the Kashmiri outfit and they could have doubled their lead as Krizo put in a delicious ball for Katebe across the face of goal, but Minerva's Arashpreet did enough to prevent his side from conceding the second goal.
Frustration took a toll on the champions, who started to lose cool in the dying minutes of the game, with goalkeeper Roy getting into a scuffle with his own teammate Lance Toure.