Aizawl FC 4 (Lalrinzuala 20’, 60’, 74’, Zothanpuia 43’)
beat
Delhi FC 2 (Junior Onguene Nkengue 10’, Rahul Rawat 29’)
AIFF Media Team
AIZAWL: Lalrinzuala’s brilliant hat trick helped Aizawl FC beat their long winless run and take a vital 4-2 victory against Delhi FC in the I-League 2024-25, on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. The teams were locked 2-2 at half time.
While Lalrinzuala scored three (20’, 60’, 74’), Zothanpuia (43’) found the other goal. For Delhi FC, Junior Onguene Nkengue (10’), Rahul Rawat (29’) were the marksmen.
The win puts them above Delhi FC on the table on goal difference, albeit having played a game more. Delhi, with nine points, remain one place off the bottom.
Aizawl have been by the far the most entertaining team in the league this season, if often mostly to their own detriment. They have failed to keep a clean sheet since the second game of the season, and haven’t won any of their last seven. In an Aizawl game, goals are guaranteed even if the result remains up in the air.
Delhi capitalised on Aizawl’s loose defence — combined with defiance to play out of the back — to open the scoring in the 10th minute. Goalkeeper John Lalruatfela’s loose pass out of defence saw Junior Nkengue charge down the defender inside the box.
The ball ricocheted off the Cameroonian onto the post. Lalruatfela had dived to make a save and could only watch as Nkengue picked up the rebound and smashed it in.
If Delhi’s goal came out of the hosts’ ineffectual play, then Aizawl’s equaliser was pure instinct. A cross from the left was headed down by Augustine Lalrochana in the box. When the defenders failed to clear, Lalrinzuala saw his chance, and took the ball on the half turn to slot it into the net.
The pendulum swung once more and Delhi were dominant again, their aerial balls and in particular their corners questioning the host’s preparedness in defence. They snatched the lead from one such corner in the 29th minute, when Hriday Jain curled in the ball, only for Rahul Rawat to rise uncontested and head the ball home. The defender’s smartly taken header bounced off the ground to hit the roof of the net, leaving a host of Aizawl defenders red-faced.
Again Aizawl charged forward, and with two minutes of the half remaining equalised once again, Zothanpuia slammed a low half-volley into the net from a right-sided cross.
Aizawl soaked up a lot of Delhi’s constant attacking pressure early in the second half. Right on the hour mark, Lalrinzuala highlighted his burgeoning goalscoring pedigree with another brilliant strike. The forward capitalised on a mis-controlled aerial ball to volley the ball into the bottom corner from the top of the box. Aizawl had the lead for the first time in the game. The youngster deepened Delhi’s despair with a brilliantly taken third in the 74th minute.
Having collected a through ball from midfield, he shimmied away from his marker at the top of the box before smashing the ball into the goal, beating the keeper at the near post. Aizawl rode out the remainder of the game, surviving a few jitters to take their first win of the year.
