Chandigarh
27 May 2023
DIVYA AZAD
Delhi Football Club (DFC) won the title in Hero I-League Second Division-2023. In the last league match of the final round, the team defeated Ambernath United Atlanta FC 3–1 to top the points tally. With this, the team qualified for the I-League and Delhi Football Club (DFC) became the first club from the capital Delhi to participate in the country’s top football league on the basis of merit.
In the last league match played at the Minerva Sports Complex Ground, DFC started in attack as expected. In the do-or-die match, coach Surinder Singh gave place to strong and experienced players in the playing-11. The hosts made moves as soon as they came against Ambernath United, but the visitors kept saving them. In the 20th minute, his player Nitesh was shown a yellow card. For 30 minutes both sides tried unsuccessfully, but DFC opened the account in the 33rd minute. Bali Gagandeep gave the team a 1-0 lead with a brilliant shot and it was the only goal of the first half.
In the second half, Ambernath United changed the game and scored as soon as they came. Himanshu Patil’s goal in the 48th minute equalized the score at 1-1. This equality could not last long. In the 56th minute, Bali Gagandeep took advantage of his experience and scored the second goal to make it 2-1. The visiting team was looking for an equaliser. Many changes were made by the team, but they did not get the benefit of it. DFC’s victory seemed certain when Vanlalhriatzuala scored in the 86th minute to seal the defeat for Ambernath United. After this the goal could not be scored and DFC won the match with 3-1.
With this win, the team got 3 points and the team reached the top of the points table. He played 4 matches, winning 2, while 1 match was a draw and the team lost in 1. The team finished on top with 7 points. Shillong Lajong FC also had 7 points with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, but their goals scored less than DFC. DFC scored 6 goals in the final round and 4 were against them. On the other hand, Shillong Lajong scored 5 goals and 7 goals were scored against them. Ambernath United’s team finished third with 6 points.
