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Minerva Academy U-12 team wins Mina Cup 2022 in Dubai
Riding high on Thiyam’s hat-trick of goals, Minerva Academy logged a thumping 4-0 win over La Liga HPC in the finals of the Mina Cup 2022 to emerge as U-12 champions in Dubai on Monday
Riding high on Thiyam’s hat-trick of goals, Minerva Academy logged a thumping 4-0 win over La Liga HPC in the finals of the Mina Cup 2022 to emerge as U-12 champions in Dubai on Monday.
Minerva and La Liga HPC had already locked horns once in the group stage, with the team from India coming out on top.
Minerva’s first opportunity came early in the game, as Thiyam had gotten away down the side of the defence, but instead of going for a shot, he tried to cut it back for a teammate, and the chance fizzled out.
Minerva opened the scoring in the 13th minute, through their most likely source. A throw-in down the left led to a bit of a scramble in the box, but the quickest to react was Thiyam, who fired the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Thiyam was indeed unstoppable as he scored in the very next minute again. La Liga HPC were clearly hassled, and Minerva took the chance to open them up again. The ball was played to Thiyam in a similar position to where he scored his first from. He took a touch and slotted it into the bottom corner.
It was looking very comfortable indeed for the team from India, who held onto their two-goal lead through long periods of the game.
It was Thiyam yet again, who provided the third, and his hat-trick goal. The ball fell for him just outside the box, and he put his foot through it first time to find the bottom corner.
With the trophy in the bag, there was still time for just one more goal, which came in stoppage time. An excellent move down the right culminated with Jayed getting a tap-in, which he put away to make it 4-0.
With that, Minerva Academy snapped up the victory and the 2022 Mina Cup trophy. Thiyam was named player of the tournament, as he was the top-scorer in the competition, scoring a whopping 12 goals in five matches. This is the first time ever in the history of Indian football that an U-12 team has won an international competition. It is also the first time in the last decade that an Indian team has won an international tournament outside the country.
In the semi-finals, Minerva Academy beat Dubai City Football Club 3-0 courtesy Thiyam’s three goals. In total, Minerva Academy scored 19 goals over five games, without conceding a single one.
Reliance Foundation, the only other team from India to be competing in the Mina Cup (U-16 category), lost in the semi-final stage to Go Pro Sports, the same team Minerva Academy beat 6-0 in their age category in the group stage.
