AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The group stage of the 2022-23 Hero Futsal Club Championship came to an end at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi on Friday, February 17, 2023. Electric Veng Futsal Club and Minerva Academy FC have joined Delhi FC and Mohammedan Sporting Club in the semi-finals which will be played on Saturday.

Electric Veng finished their Group A campaign level on 12 points with Speed Force FC after losing 5-8 to Techtro Swades United FC. But the Mizo side qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of a better head-to-head record over Speed Force. For Techtro Swades United, captain Satish Pandit scored a hat-trick, while Lalit Vasantrao Patil, Rohit Chawla, Harsh Vardhan and Priyanshu all scored a goal each. Lalhlimpuia (2), Pc Lalnunfela, Zomuanpuia and Samuel Lawmsiamkima were on the scoresheet for Electric Veng.

Minerva Academy sealed their final four berth in dramatic fashion, getting the better of Juggernaut 2-1 in one of the cagiest matches of the tournament so far. In what was a virtual play-off for the semi-final, Juggernaut took the lead through Dev Patel in the second half, but top-scorer Nikhil Mali proved clutch once again for Minerva. He scored twice in the final three minutes to completely turn things around and propel his side to the semi-final.

In Group A, Delhi FC routed Dzawo 11 FC 15-3 to finish their group stage with a perfect record of six wins in six. K Roluahpuia (6) and Gwgwmsar Gayary (4) scored two-thirds of Delhi's goals. Lalremrauta had a brace, while George Ms Dawngliana, Lalpekhlua and David Laltlansanga scored one each for the capital side. For the Ladakhi side, captain Tsering Dorjey, with a brace, and Stanzin Wangdan were on the scoresheet.

In the last match of the day, Goal Hunterz FC got the better of Aphuyemi FC by 7-2. Akshay Hurria scored twice, while Dishant Negi, Anupam Vishwakarma, Jagdish Tokas and Nitesh Sharma added one goal each. Ranveer Gaikwad and Vinayak Shetty found the net for Aphuyemi. The latter also scored an own goal.
The semi-finals on Saturday will see Delhi FC face Mohammedan Sporting in a rematch of last year's final, while Minerva Academy FC will take on Electric Veng Futsal Club.