BFC play out 1-1 draw against Sreenidi Deccan, Chennaiyin beat ARA in Stafford Cup

KSFA Media 
Bengaluru FC Media 

Chennaiyin FC, Chennai, became the first team to log full points defeating the ARA FC 1-0 in a Group D match of the Stafford Challenge Cup 2023 football tournament on Friday. In another match in Group C, local hopefuls Bengaluru FC drew with Sreenidhi Deccan FC, Hyderabad, 1-1 after leading by an early goal.

In the first game today morning, Bengaluru FC did well to take the lead in the 15th minute when Harmanpreet Singh rushed in to tap home the ball following a melee inside the box.  Harmanpreet, Thoi Singh, and captain Biswa Darjee combined well to threaten the opponents, but their finishing let them down.

Sreenidhi Deccan worked the ball at a fast clip and looked like finding the equaliser any moment. It did come in the 68th minute when skipper Arunkumar managed to chip the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Lara as the ball landed into the net.

After being on level terms, it was the Deccan side which let BFC off the hook when skipper Biswa Darjee failed to beat Lara in a one to one situation. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Chennaiyin beat ARA 1-0

Keeping up a steady flow of attacks, Chennaiyin Fc carved out the ARA defence and opened up scoring chances, but their finishing let them down. This was evident when their skipper Senthamil failed to fill an untenanted net with goalkeeper Sangramjit Roy Coudhury out of his charge. But he made amends soon after when a lob from Rajat Roy hit the crossbar and rebounded back into play. Senthamil was close on hand to fill the net.

ARA boys tried their best to force the pace and attack from both flanks but the CFC defence did not yield. They were backed well by goalkeeper Mohanraj who rushed out time and again to bring timely saves.

Chennaiyin could have made it 2-0 but midfielder Sharon’s long chip hit the crossbar and rolled out. In the dying moments, substitute Zomuansanga failed to tap home a pass from Senthamil. Though they tried hard, the Ahmedabad boys failed to break the compact opponent defence and crashed to defeat.