18-0! It may sound a bit exaggerated and one may be forced to recheck the scoreline again; and maybe again. But it stands, and like any other match, it will.

All India Football Federation’s U-15 Kolkata Regional Academy defeated Mohun Bagan’s U-18 Goal Project Team 18-0 in a Friendly Match played at the Pailan World School Campus. AIFF Regional Academy led 9-0 at the half-time. The match was played for 90 minutes with two halves of 45 minutes each.

The thumping victory was the sixth consecutive victory for the Regional Academy boys having earlier beaten Prayag United U-19, East Bengal U-19, Khidderpore FC Senior Team and Bidhanagar Academy and Uttarpara Academy boys.

The Regional Academy boys are presently preparing for International Competitions – first, the U-16 SAFF Championship to be held in Nepal from July 20, and then the AFC U-16 Qualifiers.

Head Coach Gautam Ghosh, nevertheless, wasn’t willing to sound too euphoric about the result. “It’s understandable it’s Mohun Bagan, that too, Mohun Bagan’s U-18 Goal Project Team who are understandably a very strong unit. I’m happy the manner the boys played,” he told www.the-aiff.com.

“We are sticking to our philosophy which we are being taught by Scott O’Donell, Technical Director, AIFF Academies who’s also the Director of Coach Education. The attitude of the boys has been excellent and they are implementing all what is being told to them. This is just the beginning and we still have a long way to go,” he added. “It’s a Developmental Process for us. I’d only say victories against such teams only add to our morale and it’s heartening to win by such a margin.”

As the match progressed, it was hard to keep a tab of the scoresheet and the scorers. For the record, Jayananda Singh, who opened the floodgates as early as the 2nd minute, scored three; Krishna Pandit scored four; while Jerry Lalrinzuala, Prosenjit Chakraborty and Bodo Boardingdao scored a brace each. Furthermore, Edmund Lalrindika, Zonunamwaia, Md. Hasil, Amey and Aron scored one apiece to complete the rout.

(AIFF Press Release)