Minerva Punjab renewed their title chase with a convincing 2-0 victory over defending champions Aizawl FC to regain top spot in the I-League on Monday.

Akash Sangwan broke the deadlock in the 50th minute while Ivory Coast’s Bazie Armand, who replaced Bhutan’s Chencho Gyeltshen moments before the final whistle, added another in injury time (90+5) to seal the match.

Minerva Punjab are ahead in the standings with 32 points from 16 matches, leapfrogging Neroca FC and East Bengal with two more games to play.

When winger Sangwan headed the ball in off a rebound, Minerva Punjab’s passionate owner Ranjit Bajaj broke into celebration, and so did the raucous crowd that gathered at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Minerva Punjab completed the game with a strike late into the second half injury time when Opokus header off a Kamalpreet Singh free-kick landed on Armand’s path.

After losing the last two matches, there was a change in tactics from Minerva as they resorted to playing short passes in this game, however, the second half saw them playing long balls on a few occasions.

Minerva head coach Khogen Singh made just one change to the XI with Amandeep Singh coming in for Randeep Singh in midfield. Aizawl coach Santosh Kashyap made no changes to the team that started in the win against Indian Arrows. Aizawl FC remained in sixth place with 21 points.

-Inputs from PTI