Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) Jamshedpur FC and East Bengal FC both registered back-to-back wins against Kickstart FC Karnataka and Diamond Harbour FC respectively, in their Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) 2024-25 National Group Stage at the Reliance Corporate Park here on Wednesday.
Jamshedpur FC breezed past Kickstart FC Karnataka 4-0 in their second match of the RFDL National Group Stage.
The Red Miners took an early lead, just five minutes into the game and never looked back. Lawmsangzuala was brought down inside the box by Kickstart goalkeeper Shijin S. and the referee pointed straight towards the spot.
Shijin also received a yellow card for his reckless challenge on the Jamshedpur FC forward. Amzard Khan stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake in beating the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
Lawmsangzuala continued to trouble the Kickstart FC defence and created a breakthrough for his side’s second. The forward delivered a defence-splitting pass to a rushing Bivan Jyoti Laskar, who slotted it past the goalkeeper to double Jamshedpur FC’s lead in the 30th minute.
To take the game further away from Kickstart’s reach, Bivan Jyoti Laskar went on to score another in the 42nd minute. The forward attempted a cross inside the box but the ball’s trajectory caught the Kickstart goalkeeper completely off-guard and went straight into the top left corner to make it 3-0.
In the 45th minute, Saikhom Borish Singh missed a glaring opportunity to bring Kickstart back into the game as the two sides went into the break with Jamshedpur FC leading. At the hour mark, Bivan Jyoti Laskar took matters into his own hands and dribbled right through the Kickstart FC defence to complete his hat-trick and hand the Red Miners a big win.
East Bengal, on the other hand, registered a statement win over Kolkata rivals Diamond Harbour, against whom they remain undefeated in the ongoing season of the competition.
The Red & Gold Brigade showed great composure at the back and established dominance in the middle of the park, especially in the second half of the game. In the 57th minute, substitute Andrews A. expertly surpassed a Diamond Harbour defender on the wing and delivered a pin-point cross inside the box. An incoming Naseeb Rahman made no mistake in heading it past the goalkeeper to give his side the lead.
East Bengal continued to win possession in the attacking half and in one such instance, they found another breakthrough. Naseeb Rahman, who earlier gave East Bengal the lead, won the ball in a dangerous area and made a through pass to substitute Aman CK.
The latter smashed it first time into the bottom right corner to take the game further away from Diamond Harbour’s reach. With the win, East Bengal now stand second in Group A equal on points with league leaders Jamshedpur FC, who have a superior goal difference.
Results:
Kickstart FC Karnataka 0 – Jamshedpur FC 4 (5’ Amzard Khan, 30’, 42’, 60’ Bivan Jyoti Laskar)
Diamond Harbour FC 0 – East Bengal FC 2 (58’ Naseeb Rahman, 65’ Aman CK).
