2018–19 Minerva Punjab F.C. season

The 2018–19 Minerva Punjab FC Season was the club's third season in the I-League.

Minerva Punjab
2018–19 season
OwnerRanjit Bajaj
Technical DirectorPaul Munster
StadiumTau Devi Lal Stadium (I-League)
The Arena(AFC Cup)
I-League9th
Punjab State Super Football LeagueWinners
Super CupDNP
AFC Champions LeagueQualifying play-off
AFC CupGroup stage
Top goalscorer Lancine Touré
Philip Njoku
W. Asiedu
(2 goals each)
Highest home attendance8,591vs Churchill Brothers
(28 October 2018)

Sponsors

As of 16 October 2018

Sponsors Type Sponsor's Name
Sponsor Apollo Tyres
Kit Sponsor Apollo Tyres
Sports Drink Sponsor Gatorade[1]
Nutrition Partner Fast&Up[2]
Performance Analysis Partner Catapult Sports[3]
Fitness Partner Anytime Fitness[4]

Transfers

Minerva Punjab saw an exodus of top players after their I-League victory in the 2017 season. Perhaps the biggest departure that Minerva Punjab was that of Chencho Gyeltshen. The Bhutanese attacker was the stand-out performer for Minerva in 2017 and was subsequently sold to Bengaluru FC.[5] His departure left a huge gap in the Minerva squad.

Following Chencho out of the door were Kiran Chemjong, Sukhdev Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, Bali Gagandeep, Kassim Aidara, Girik Khosla, Rakshit Dagar, and Abhishek Ambekar.

Kamalpreet Singh, Gagandeep, Aidara, and Rakshit Dagar all signed for Minerva's title rivals East Bengal F.C.. Sukhdev Singh and Ambekar moved on to Mohun Bagan.[6] Ahead of the 2018-19 I-League season, Minerva were left with a depleted squad.

On 6 July 2018 Minerva Punjab signed forward Yu Kuboki on a permanent transfer from Australian club Sydney Olympic FC. He had been in scintillating form for Sydney the previous season, scoring 11 goals in 22 matches as an attacking midfielder or a withdrawn striker.[7]

In August 2018 Minerva signed three players including Nigerian forward Philip Njoku.[8]

In September 2018 they signed former Ozone FC striking duo C. S. Sabeeth and Brazilian Robert De Souza.[9] They also extended contracts with defender Akashdeep Singh and striker Akash Sangwan.[10][11]

Contract Extension
No. Position Player Date Ref
FW Akash Sangwan 6 September 2018 [10]
DF Akashdeep Singh 9 September 2018 [11]
MF Amandeep Singh 10 September 2018 [12]
MF Souvik Das 14 September 2018 [13]
DF Deepak Devrani 19 September 2018 [14]
MF William Opoku 21 September 2018 [15][16]
GK Arshdeep Singh 22 September 2018 [17]
DF Arshpreet Singh 23 September 2018 [18]
GK Bhaskar Roy 26 September 2018 [19]
MF Randeep Singh 1 October 2018 [20]
FW Rajan Negi 9 October 2018 [21]

In
No. Position Player Previous club Transfer fee Date Ref
10 FW Yu Kuboki Sydney Olympic FC Free agent 6 July 2018 [7]
FW Sandeep Rajput MPFC winter Camp Free agent 30 July 2018 [22]
4 FW Philip Njoku FC Inter Turku Free agent 7 August 2018 [8]
MF Liandala Fanai Aizawl Free agent 12 August 2018 [23]
7 FW Hitova Ayemi Fateh Hyderabad Free agent 25 August 2018 [24]
9 FW C. S. Sabeeth Ozone F.C. Free agent 2 September 2018 [25]
14 FW Dilli Ram Sanyasi Hindustan FC Free agent 5 September 2018 [26]
FW Robert De Souza Ozone FC Free agent 7 September 2018 [9]
DF Mohamed Irshad Gokulam Kerala Free agent 8 September 2018 [27][28]
28 MF Prabhjot Singh unattached Free agent 11 September 2018 [29]
50 DF Aimable Nsabimana APR FC Free agent 13 September 2018 [30][31]
12 DF Nikhil Pal Chennai City Free agent 16 September 2018 [32]
MF Akhil PM FC Kerala Free agent 26 September 2018 [33][34]
FW Atinder Mani Real Kashmir Free agent 19 October 2018 [35]
11 FW Manandeep Singh Mohun Bagan Free agent 19 October 2018 [36]
MF Jagpreet Singh unattached Free agent 27 October 2018 [37]
22 GK Nidhin Lal Shillong Lajong Free agent 27 October 2018 [38]
5 DF Lancine Touré Mohammedan Free agent 27 October 2018 [39]
47 MF Alex Kouame unattached Free agent 31 October 2018
6 MF Bala Al Hassan Dahir F.C. Kerala Free agent 5 November 2018 [40]
18 FW Donatus Edafe ND Gorica Free agent 8 November 2018 [41]
FW Moinuddin Khan Mohun Bagan Free agent 9 November 2018 [42]
DF Caicedo Rodriguez Thinadhoo Sports Free agent 27 November 2018 [43]
MF Juan Quero Fuenlabrada Free agent 27 January 2019
FW Cornelius Stewart Maziya Free agent 31 January 2019

Out
No. Position Player Outgoing club Ref
27 DF Abhishek Ambekar Mohun Bagan [44]
7 FW Chencho Gyeltshen Bengaluru [44]
16 MF Kassim Aidara East Bengal [44]
9 FW Bali Gagandeep East Bengal [44]
40 GK Rakshit Dagar East Bengal [44]
22 DF Kamalpreet Singh East Bengal [44]
31 GK Kiran Chemjong T.C. Sports Club [44]
3 DF Sukhdev Singh Mohun Bagan [44]
10 FW Moinuddin Khan Mohun Bagan [44]
11 MF Girik Khosla NorthEast United FC [44]
13 MF Bazie Armand Mohammedan [45]
24 DF Guy Eric Dano Rainbow AC [46]
48 FW Robert Dzouza unattached
50 DF Aimable Nsabimana unattached
10 FW Yu Kuboki unattached
4 FW Philip Njoku unattached
6 MF Bala Dahir unattached
18 FW Donatus Edafe unattached

Squad

First-team squad
As of 28 February 2019[47]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IND Bhaskar Roy
2 DF  IND Saurabh Bhanwala
3 DF  IND Prateek Joshi
5 DF  CIV Lancine Touré
6 DF  SYR Mahmoud Amnah
7 MF  IND Hitova Ayemi
8 MF  GHA Khalif Alhassan
9 FW  IND C.S. Sabeeth
10 FW  ESP Juan Quero Barraso
11 FW  IND Manandeep Singh
12 DF  IND Nikhil Pal
13 DF  IND Akashdeep Singh
14 FW  IND Dilli Ram Sanyasi
15 MF  IND Souvik Das
17 MF  UKR Roland Rassel Bilala
19 MF  IND Makan Chote
21 FW  IND Akash Sangwan
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 GK  IND Nidhin Lal
23 MF  IND Jagpreet Singh
24 DF  IND Thoiba Singh Moirangthem
25 DF  IND Arshpreet Singh
26 DF  IND Deepak Devrani
28 FW  IND Prabhjot Singh
30 GK  IND Arshdeep Singh
32 FW  IND Luntinmang Haokip
33 MF  IND Akhil Verma
38 FW  IND Atinder Mani
40 DF  COL Caicedo Rodriguez
42 MF  GHA William Opoku
44 MF  CIV Alexander Kouame
49 MF  IND Amandeep Singh
50 FW  IND Moinuddin Khan

Team management
Paul Munster, current Minerva Punjab technical director
As of 9 August 2018.
Position Name
Technical Director Paul Munster
Head Coach Sachin Badadhe
Assistant Coach Vacant
Team Manager vacant
Physiotherapist Karuna Kant Gupta

Pre-season and friendlies

Minerva Punjab kicked off their pre-season preparations by participating in the 2018 Punjab State Super Football League from 26 August 2018.[48] With 4 wins and 3 draws Minerva finished second in the league table.[49] They beat league leader FC Punjab Police in the finals to win the 32nd Punjab State Super Football League title.[50] [51]

Punjab State Super League

  Win   Draw   Loss

26 August 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Minerva Punjab 2–2 FC Punjab Police Hoshiarpur, Punjab
16:00 IST
Report
  • Vijay  47'
  • Sandeep  69'
2 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Kehar SC 0–4 Minerva Punjab FC Jalandhar, Punjab
16:00 IST Report
Stadium: DAV cCollege Stadium
7 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Minerva Punjab FC 0–0[Note PSL][52][53] Dalbir FC Mohali, Punjab
16:00 IST Report Stadium: Minerva Academy ground
12 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Rail Coach Factory 0–1 Minerva Punjab FC Kapurthala, Punjab
16:00 IST Report
Stadium: RCF Stadium
15 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League CRPF SC 1–3 Minerva Punjab FC Jalandhar, Punjab
16:00 IST
  • Dolai  74'
 Report
Stadium: CRPF ground
20 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Guru Football Club 0–1 Minerva Punjab FC Jalandhar, Punjab
16:00 IST Report
  • Dilliram  82'
 Stadium: Lyallpur Khalsa College grounds
27 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Minerva Punjab FC 1–1 BSF FC Jalandhar, Punjab
16:00 IST
  • R.Negi  30'
 Report
  • Sadam  7'
 Stadium: Lyallpur Khalsa College grounds
30 September 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Semifinal Minerva Punjab FC 1–0 CRPF SC Jalandhar, Punjab
15:00 IST
Report Stadium: Dolike football stadium
3 October 2018 2018 Punjab State Super Football League Final FC Punjab Police 1–2 Minerva Punjab FC Mahilpur, Punjab
15:00 IST
  • Jaspreet  85'
 Report
Stadium: S.G.G.S. Khalsa College grounds
Notes
  1. ^
    Match abandoned at 81 minute due to bad weather conditions.The remaining 9 minutes were played on 17 September 2018.[54][52]

J&K Invitational Cup

Minerva Punjab participated in the J&K Invitational Cup organized by Real Kashmir FC. It was a knock out tournament.[55]

19 October 2018 Quarter Final Minerva Punjab FC 3–1 J&K Bank Srinagar, J&K
15:00 IST
Report
  • Prem Kumar 2'
 Stadium: TRC Turf Ground
21 October 2018 Semi Final Minerva Punjab FC 3–0 Sudeva Moonlight F.C. Srinagar, J&K
12:00 IST
Report Stadium: TRC Turf Ground
23 October 2018 Final Real Kashmir (0–0)[Note JNT] Minerva Punjab FC Srinagar, J&K
14:30 IST Report Stadium: TRC Turf Ground
Notes
  1. ^
    The prevailing situation following the death of many civilians in Kulgam blast forced the organisers of Jammu and Kashmir Invitational Cup-2018 to cancel the final and declare the finalists - Real Kashmir FC and Minerva Punjab FC as joint winners.

Friendlies
8 July 2018 1[56] Minerva Punjab FC 1-1[57]
(4–3 p)		 Indian Air Force Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, India
20:00 IST
Report
  • ? 89'
 Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium
25 September 2018 2[58] NorthEast United 1–0 Minerva Punjab FC Guwahati, Assam
15:00 IST
Report Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
27 September 2018 3[59] Delhi Dynamos FC 3–3 Minerva Punjab FC New Delhi
16:00 IST
Report
Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Training Pitch

Competitions

I-League
Main article: 2018–19 I-League

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Void   Postponed

28 October 2018 1 Minerva Punjab FC 0–0 Churchill Brothers Panchkula, Haryana
14:00 IST Report Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium
Attendance: 8,591
Referee: Umesh Bora
31 October 2018 2 Minerva Punjab FC 0–1 Real Kashmir Panchkula, Haryana
14:00 IST
  • Dilliram Sanyasi  90+2'
 Report
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium
Attendance: 5,171
Referee: Rosario Fernandes
10 November 2018 3 Aizawl FC 1–2 Minerva Punjab FC Aizawl, Mizoram
14:00 IST
Report
  • Bala Alhassan 37'
  • Lancine Touré  10', 58'
     55'
 Stadium: Rajiv Gandhi Stadium
Attendance: 3,871
Referee: Raktim Shah
18 November 2018 4 Gokulam Kerala 1-0 Minerva Punjab FC Calicut, Kerala
19:30 IST
Report
Stadium: EMS Stadium
Attendance: 30,246
Referee: Senthil Nathan
23 November 2018 5 Shillong Lajong FC 2–2 Minerva Punjab FC Shillong, Meghalaya
17:00 IST Kenstar Kharshong  23'
Phrangki Buam  24'
Allen Lyngdoh  43'  57'		 Report W. Asiedu  45+3'
Souvik Das  49'
Philip Njoku  75'		 Stadium: JL Nehru Stadium, Shillong
Attendance: 5,275
Referee: Pratik Mondal
1 December 2018 6 Minerva Punjab FC 1–0 Indian Arrows Panchkula, Haryana
14:00 IST T.moirangthem  42'
Philip Njoku 74'
B.Dahir  80'		 Report Aniket Jadhav 87' Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium
Attendance: 4,275
Referee: Priyobarta Singh
4 December 2018 7 East Bengal 0–1 Minerva Punjab FC Kolkata, West Bengal
17:00 IST Jhonny Acosta 73' Report W. Asiedu  75' Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium
Attendance: 16,821
Referee: Crystal John

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Aizawl 20 6 6 8 27 28 −1 24
8 Indian Arrows 20 6 3 11 19 28 −9 21
9 Minerva Punjab 20 4 6 10 10 19 −9 18[lower-alpha 1]
10 Gokulam Kerala 20 3 8 9 25 33 −8 17
11 Shillong Lajong (R) 20 3 2 15 23 56 −33 11 Relegation to I-League 2nd Division
Source: I-league
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. The game between Minerva Punjab and Real Kashmir was rescheduled, but eventually it was not played and both teams were awarded a point.[60]

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
7 3 2 2 6 5  +1 11 1 1 1 1 1  0 2 1 1 5 4  +1

Source: I-League

Results by round
Round12345678
GroundHHAAAHA
ResultDLWLDWW
Position71167752
Updated to match(es) played on 12 November 2018. Source: I-League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

2019 AFC Champions League
Main article: 2019 AFC Champions League

The AFC Champions League is the premier continental football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). As the champions of the I-League the previous season, Minerva Punjab FC earned a chance to qualify for the tournament. India did not have a direct-entry spot in the AFC Champions League and thus the champion team from India had to qualify for the tournament through the preliminary rounds. Minerva Punjab were put up against Saipa FC of Iran.

12 February 2019 (2019-02-12) PR 2 Saipa FC v Minerva Punjab FC
--:-- UTC+3:30

2019 AFC Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ABD CFC MIN MMC
1 Abahani Limited Dhaka 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7 13 Inter-zone play-off semi-finals — 3–2 2–2 5–0
2 Chennaiyin 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11 1–0 — 0–0 2–0
3 Minerva Punjab 6 0 5 1 6 7 −1 5 0–1 1–1 — 2–2
4 Manang Marshyangdi Club 6 0 2 4 5 14 −9 2 0–1 2–3 1–1 —
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Statistics

Goal Scorers
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name I-League AFC Indian Super Cup Total
1 22 DF Lancine Touré 2002
9 MF Philip Njoku 2002
17 FW William Opoku 2002
Own Goals ---
Total 6606

Hat-tricks
Player Against Result Date Competition

References
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    See also
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