RoundGlass Punjab cruise past Rajasthan United to become I-League champions with a match to spare
The champions' entry into the top-tier ISL, however, is subject to fulfilment of financial criteria as agreed upon by all stakeholders.
Chencho Gyeltshen (16th), Luka Majcen (40th), Juan Mera 76th, Hmingthanmawia (91st) scored for Punjab, while Rajasthan drew a blank in the crucial match.
It was yet another flawless performance by Staikos Vergetis's team here at Ambedkar Stadium as the victory gave RoundGlass an unassailable eight-point lead atop the points table, crushing Sreenidi Deccan's hopes.
The I-League trophy will return to Punjab for the first time since 2017-18, when Minerva Punjab won it.
This success will taste sweeter as it helped RoundGlass inch closer to a berth in the Indian Super League – the top tier of club football -- as well as earning them a direct entry into the season-ending Super Cup.
Hero of the Match Chencho Gyeltshen capitalised on a defensive error in the 16th minute to start the scoring spree.
Khaiminthang Lhungdim crossed from the right wing and the defender standing ahead of Gyeltshen out-jumped him but missed the header. Gyeltshen did not. It took a deflection off Yash Tripathi and went in.
Rajasthan's Uzbek midfielder Otabek Zokirov failed to score in the 25th minute when his booming left-footer from just outside the box was kept out by Kiran Limbu.
His counterpart, Vishal Joon, did the same a couple of minutes later to deny Luka Majcen, who still has a match in hand to overtake Sreenidi's David Castaneda as the top-scorer of this I-League.
However, the Slovenian was not to be denied for long. He got his share of the pie in the 40th minute as Ajay Chhetri crossed from the left.
Four Rajasthan United men stood in a line, none of them trying to clear it. Luka headed home coming in from behind, as Amritpal Singh remained a spectator.
Even though Rajasthan had enough ball possession, they did not have anybody forceful up front like Gyeltshen, Luka or Mera to pressurise the RoundGlass defence.
It seemed a matter of time before the Punjab team increased the margin. That finally happened when the three forwards combined in the 76th minute.
Luka floated the ball in from the right of the midfield to the left of the Rajasthan United box. Gyeltshen grabbed it and passed it to Mera.
The Spaniard, with his first touch, dragged the ball with the left foot and turned to shake off his marker. He then sent a right-footed grounder to the corner of the net and soon took off his jersey in celebration.
In another match, Aizawl FC and Churchill Brothers Goa settled for a 1-1 draw at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl.
Both goals came in the first half – while Anil Rama Goalkar put Churchill ahead in the 19th minute, R Lalthanmawia equalised for the home team four minutes later.
The second half was a combination of missed chances and strong defending by both sides, resulting in the deadlock. The earlier match between the two teams also ended in a draw.
While Churchill now have 30 points from 21 matches, Aizawl have 25 points.
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