Minerva Academy and Bengaluru FC storm into semi-finals

Goa Khabar: In a day of one-sided quarter-final matches, Minerva Academy from Punjab blanked Sreenidhi Deccan 4-0 and Bengaluru FC hammered Football 4 Change of Manipur 6-1 to storm into the semi-finals of the Dream Sports Championships-AIFF junior league being played in South Goa on Saturday.

In the morning at the Don Bosco grounds in Margao, the swift footed and technically superior Minerva team ran circles around the hapless Sreenidhi Deccan side. K Chetan Singh (17^th min), Punshiba Meetei ( 45^th min), L Haokip ( 53^rd min) and Z. Ramung ( 71^st min) kept the scorer busy for the Minerva team.

In the evening game at the Raia grounds, the Bengaluru FC and Football 4 Change scored a goal each in the first 15 minutes, promising a close match. However, the Football 4 Change team soon wilted under the sustained attacks made by the Bengaluru forwards, who scored at will. For Bengaluru, Hrishikesh Manavathi scored a hat-trick of goals ( 28^th, 34^th and 81^st mins), Samwanki Lato scored two goals ( 12^th and 49^th min) and Nithin Badri scored in the 42^nd minute. A heavy downpour in the second half provided welcome relief from the sweltering heat.