AIFF Media Team

NARAINPUR, CHHATTISGARH: Delhi and Goa racked up huge wins in their opening Group B fixtures of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men's National Football Championship at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Thursday, May 2, 2024.  

While Delhi beat hosts Chhattisgarh 6-1 in the day's opening game, Goa went even better handing Pondicherry a harsh footballing lesson with an 11-0 victory.

Chhattisgarh 1 (Ravi Kurmi 75')
lost to
Delhi 6 (Ramesh Chhetri 36' p, Jajo Prashan 40', Himanshu 42', Rituraj Mohan 45+3', Kamginsei Touthang 71', Pasoulunii Veinii 78')

Delhi beat Chhattisgarh 6-1 in the opening game of the day, in an encounter where the scoreline did not accurately convey the balance of play itself. Despite running out as huge winners, Delhi were made to sweat for a large part of the first half, unable to break a tough Chhattisgarh defence. The relief arrived in the form of a rash tackle by Manish Kumar Kowachi on Jajo Prashan inside the box in the 35th minute. Ramesh Chhetri converted from the spot to give Delhi the lead.

That goal opened the floodgates for Delhi who went on to add three more within the next nine minutes of the half via Prashan (40'), Himanshu (42') and Rituraj Mohan (45'+3'). Kamginsei Touthang (71') and Pasoulunii Veinii (78') added two more in the second half to help them canter to an easy victory. Ravu Kurmi scored hosts Chhattisgarh's lone goal in the 75th minute.     

Pondicherry 0
lost to
Goa 11 (Vedant Naik 2', 44', Rui Carlo de Piedade Noronha 12', Velrose Velli Dias 23', 45+1', 45+4', Soham Shrikrishna Nagvekar 54', 84', 88', Macnelle Dias 68', Adarsh Raj MR 76')

In the day's second game, Goa stamped their authority over the group with a comprehensive 11-0 thrashing of Pondicherry. Six different players scored the goals for Goa. The onslaught started as early as the 2nd minute when Vedant Naik opened the scoring. Naik scored a second in the 44th minute of the game.

The real star of the game though was Velrose Velli Dias, who scored a first-half hat-trick, a goal in the 23rd minute and two more strikes in injury time of the first period. Second-half substitute Soham Nagvekar also got a hat-trick with strikes in the 54th, 84th and 88th minute of the game. 

Goa's other goal scorers were Rui Carlo de Piedade Noronha (12'), Macnelle Dias (68') and Adarsh Raj (76').

Group D will kick off on Friday, May 3, as Kerala take on Gujarat at 07:30 before Haryana face Andhra Pradesh at 16:00. Both matches will be streamed live on the Indian Football YouTube Channel.