Games
Bhubaneswar: Amarjit Singh scored on either halves, as a spirited Indian Arrows stunned a much fancied Kerala Blasters in their Super Cup qualifier to surge into the round of 16 here at the Kalinga Stadium Friday.
Amarjit gave Arrows the lead in the 39th minute from a Boris Singh pass to shoot past Kerala custodian and his former teammate Dheeraj Singh before converting from the spot in the in the 77th minute to cap into a memorable victory.
Both the teams were reduced to 10 men after Anas Edathodika (Kerala Blasters) and Jitendra Singh (Indian Arrows) were shown red cards. Arrows will next meet ISL finalist FC Goa in the pre-quarterfinals.
However, in the first match of the day, FC Pune City git a walkover and qualified for the final round without a minute being played as their opponents and former I-League champions Minerva Punjab didn’t turn up for the match in a protest against All India Football Federation. Pune will be playing against East Bengal in the next round March 30.
Minerva, along with six other I-League clubs have issued a joint press release Wednesday regarding their withdrawal citing unfair treatment from the part of AIFF to the I-League clubs. Minerva had also given the mandatory pre-match press conference a miss Thursday.
However, when asked if any sort action will be taken against Minerva or any other team which does not turn up for the Super Cup, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said, “As of now, we are not talking about action but we believe better sense will prevail and the clubs will play football. Whatever is provided under the tournament (Super Cup) rules will be applied,” Das said. The match commissioner is also yet to decide on the status of the game, whether it’s ‘cancelled or called off.’
