2018–19 Minerva Punjab FC season

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

OwnerRanjit Bajaj

Technical Director

Paul Munster

StadiumTau Devi Lal Stadium (I-League)
The Arena (AFC Cup)

I-League9th

Quick facts season, Owner ...

Minerva Punjab

2018–19 season

Owner

Ranjit Bajaj

Technical Director

Paul Munster

Stadium

Tau Devi Lal Stadium (I-League)
The Arena (AFC Cup)

I-League

9th

Punjab State Super Football League

Winners

DNP

Top goalscorer

Lancine Touré

Philip Njoku

W. Asiedu
(2 goals each)

Highest home attendance

8,591vs Churchill Brothers
(28 October 2018)

Home colours

Away colours

← 2017–18

2019–20 →

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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in scintillating form for Sydney the previous season, scoring 11 goals in 22 matches as an attacking midfielder or a withdrawn striker.^[7]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

More information No., Position ...

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]

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In

More information No., Position ...

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

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Out

More information No., Position ...

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

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Squad

First-team squad

As of 28 February 2019^[47]

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

More information No., Pos. ...


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

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Team management

As of 9 August 2018.

More information Position, Name ...

Position	Name
Technical director	Paul Munster
Head coach	Sachin Badadhe
Assistant coach	Vacant
Team manager	vacant
Physiotherapist	Karuna Kant Gupta

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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	Yu Kuboki 64' 89'	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	Akash Sangwan 6' D'Souza 30' Yu Kuboki 74' Dilliram 90+2'	Stadium: DAV College 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	Yu Kuboki 90+2'	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	Yu Kuboki 3' C.S. Sabeeth 31', 90+7'	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	William Opoku 13'	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	Souvik Das 45+3' Dilliram 75'	Stadium: S.G.G.S. Khalsa College grounds

Notes

^
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	C.S. Sabeeth 43' William Opoku 90+5' Yu Kuboki 90+6'	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	William Opoku 14' Manandeep Singh 58' Amandeep 70'	Report^{[dead link]}		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

^
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	Yu Kuboki 18'	Report	? 89'	Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium

25 September 2018 2^[58]	NorthEast United	1–0	Minerva Punjab FC	Guwahati, Assam
15:00 IST	Mascia 71' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium

27 September 2018 3^[59]	Delhi Dynamos FC	3–3	Minerva Punjab FC	New Delhi
16:00 IST	Kaluđerović 27', 57' Romeo 84'	Report	Alex 4' Yu Kuboki 87' Dilliram 90+1'	Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Training Pitch

Competitions

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	Gnohere Krizo 74' Brian Mascarenhas 90+1'	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	Govin Singh 30' Kareem Omolaja 62' Léonce Dodoz 84' (pen.)	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	Rajesh S. 60' Suhair V P 72'	Report	Akasdeep Singh 19' Philip Njoku 45+20' Souvik Das 79'	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

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	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^[a]
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 (withdrew)

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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:

[a]
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

More information Overall, Home ...


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
7	3	2	2	6	5	+1	11	1	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	1	5	4	+1

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Source: I-League

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Ground	H	H	A	A	A	H	A
Result	D	L	W	L	D	W	W
Position	7	11	6	7	7	5	2

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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

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

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	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	—

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Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Statistics

Goal Scorers

More information Rank, No. ...

Rank	No.	Pos.	Name	I-League	AFC	Indian Super Cup	Total
1	22	DF	Lancine Touré	2	0	0	2
	9	MF	Philip Njoku	2	0	0	2
	17	FW	William Opoku	2	0	0	2
			Own Goals	-	-	-
			Total	6	6	0	6

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Hat-tricks

More information Player, Against ...

Player	Against	Result	Date	Competition

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2018–19 Minerva Punjab FC season

Sponsors

Transfers

Contract extension

In

Out

Squad

First-team squad

Team management

Pre-season and friendlies

Punjab State Super League

J&K Invitational Cup

Friendlies

Competitions

I-League

Matches

League table

Results summary

Results by round

2019 AFC Champions League

2019 AFC Cup

Statistics

Goal Scorers

Hat-tricks

References

See also

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks