An injury time goal by Laldanmawia Ralte helped East Bengal to notch up a thrilling 1-0 win over Aizawl FC and seal the first semi-final spot of the Super Cup in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. A former Aizawl midfielder, Ralte scored the solitary goal of the match from the spot late into injury time to break the deadlock after both the teams fought tooth and nail during the regulation time.
The first half began on a sedate note but East Bengal soon caught up and started attacking in quick succession through Syrian Mahmoud Al Amna and Nigerian Dudu Omegbemi.
It was the Bengal outfit, however, who came really close to scoring on a couple of occasions but brave goalkeeping from Aizawl goalkeeper Lalawmpuia ensured that the first half of the game ended evenly balanced without any goals being scored. The second half began with East Bengal pressing hard but Lalawmpuia once again stood in the way of the Kolkata giants.
It was Lalawmpuia’s heroics at goal that kept Aizawl alive in the game till the last minute before the youngster made the only mistake of the game, conceding a penalty in the last minute of the injury time. Aizawl had missed a chance to score a few seconds earlier through Andrei Lonescu.
Ralte made no mistake in converting the penalty to his favour, and sealing their semi-final spot at the Super Cup. The second quarter-final of the Super Cup will be played between I-League outfits Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong FC on April 11.