Zinc FA 0 – 0 Reliance Foundation Young Champs

Goalkeeper Smarnik Thapa stands tall once again

With qualification on the line, our Zinc Football Academy boys delivered a good performance but were held to a second consecutive goalless draw against Reliance Foundation Young Champs in Mahilpur, Punjab.

Knowing that defeat would end their campaign, ZFA began with intent from the very first minute. The opening 10 minutes were played at a high tempo, with both sides going end-to-end. Gradually, ZFA found their rhythm and began to assert control, creating some of the best chances of the first half.

The most notable opportunities fell to creative midfielder Nikhil Gope, who found himself in promising positions but couldn’t apply the finishing touch. In one of the defining moments of the half, winger Himanshu produced a brilliant run into the box, beating his markers before delivering a low cross across goal… only for Nikhil to narrowly miss the tap-in.

The story remained similar in the second half.

ZFA continued to create, but the final finish proved elusive. Striker Ashish Chetry had a couple of big chances but couldn’t convert, as the team’s struggle in the attacking third persisted for yet another game.

At the other end, the defense stood tall once again. Organized, disciplined, and composed, the backline limited RFYC to very few clear-cut opportunities.

However, drama unfolded late in the game.

In the 87th minute, RFYC were awarded a penalty after their attacker went down inside the box following a challenge from ZFa captain Sanjay. With ZFA’s hopes hanging in the balance, goalkeeper Smarnik Thapa stepped up once again.

And once again… he delivered

Diving to his right, Thapa produced a brilliant save to deny the penalty, making it two saves from the spot in two consecutive matches. A performance worthy of back-to-back Player of the Match awards.

The final whistle confirmed a 0-0 draw… but this was far from a quiet game. It was a contest filled with energy, chances, and moments that could have gone either way.

While not the ideal result, ZFA remain in the hunt.

With 2 points from 2 matches, our Zawar-based Academy currently sit 3rd in Group C. Reliance Foundation Young Champs lead the group with 4 points, followed by ASUFII FC on 3 points, while East Bengal FC have 1 point.

Everything now comes down to the final matchday.

All to play for