Ralte puts East Bengal in semifinals

An injury-time goal by Laldanmawia Ralte helped East Bengal notch up a thrilling 1-0 win over Aizawl FC and seal a semifinal spot in the Hero Super Cup on Sunday.

A former Aizawl midfielder, Ralte scored from the spot late into injury time to break the deadlock after both teams fought tooth and nail during regulation time.

The first half began on a slow note before East Bengal launched a series of raids through Syrian Mahmoud Al Amna and Nigerian Dudu Omegbemi. However, the Aizawl defence stood firm and goalkeeper Lalawmpuia, too, came up with quite a few saves.

The second half began with East Bengal pressing hard, but Lalawmpuia proved a tough nut to crack. It was the Aizawl goalkeeper’s heroics that kept East Bengal at bay before his mistake resulted in a last-minute penalty in injury time.

Aizawl FC had missed its best chance a few seconds before that when Andrei Ionescu shot wide.

The second quarterfinal will be played between Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong on April 11.