Mumbai: Mohun Bagan Super Giant clinched the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) 2024-25 title after sailing past Classic Football Academy 3-0 in the final, held at the Reliance Corporate Park here on Monday.
Pasang Dorjee Tamang scored a magnificent hat-trick to hand the Mariners the triumph in the ultimate fixture.
The Mariners asserted dominance right from the get-go as they overpowered Classic FA to keep hold of the ball possession in the opening minutes of the game.
In the 8th minute, Tamang drew first blood when he smashed in one from the edge of the box to find the top right corner spectacularly.
The opening goal gave Mohun Bagan more confidence to take the driver’s seat in the game, and in no time, Tamang scored his second, capitalising on a mistake from the Classic FA defence to make it 2-0.
Classic FA did have a chance to pull one back but were left heads-in-hands with lack of finishing touch in the final third.
The second half started in a similar fashion with Mohun Bagan Super Giant dominating the proceedings, and Pasang Dorjee Tamang went on to find the back of the net once again, thereby completing his hat-trick.
The Mariners’ midfielder picked up on a loose ball and slotted it home to make it 3-0 and seal the deal for his side with a remarkable victory.
The four semi-finalists of the 2024-25 season of RFDL all came from four different states – West Bengal, Manipur, Goa, and Jharkhand, showing remarkable depth and quality of the teams in action.
Three of the four semi-finalists were the same as the last four in the Indian Super League 2024-25 season i.e. Mohun Bagan Super Giant, FC Goa, and Jamshedpur FC.
The fourth semi-finalist Classic FA, is the only academy side to progress to the National Championship stage, ultimately also sealing their berth in the upcoming Premier League Next Generation Cup presented by Reliance Foundation along with the other three.
The 2024-25 Indian football season, however, has been all about Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s success across different levels.
The Mariners’ RFDL victory comes on the back of their senior team famously clinching the Indian Super League Double — League Shield and Cup.
Additionally, their U-15 side also claimed the trophy in the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) Kolkata region.
In the third place playoff match earlier on the day, FC Goa edged Jamshedpur FC 1-0 to end their RFDL 2024-25 campaign on a positive note. Saish Gaunkar broke the deadlock for the Gaurs early in the 15th minute, following a low cross from the right flank by Gogocha Chungkham.
Jamshedpur showed some resilience in the second half of the game, but FC Goa’s defence was mean enough to hold on to their slender lead till the end.
Individual Awards:
Golden Boot: Lawmsangzuala (Jamshedpur FC) – 16 Goals
Golden Glove: Priyansh Dubey (Mohun Bagan Super Giant) – 10 Clean Sheets
Golden Ball: Md. Arbash (Classic FA).
UNI
