Srinagar: Local star Asrar Rehbar displayed excellent performance as Real Kashmir FC registered a dominant 4-0 win over Neroca FC in the I-League 2023-24 group-stage match at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium on Thursday.
Mohammad Asrar Rehbar, Gnohere Krizo, Jeremy Laldinpuia and Mohammad Maksod were the scorers for Real Kashmir, which moved them to fifth place in the table.
The last time Real Kashmir had won a match was on November 4 against TRAU FC. It suffered defeats against Churchill Brothers and Namdhari FC in its next two games before it bounced back against NEROCA in style.’
Real Kashmir began with a positive intent, and its attacking approach paid rich dividends when it took the lead in the 11th minute. Syrian defender Shaher Shaheen played a long ball from deep towards Gnohere Krizo. The Ivory Coast forward laid it off for Mohammad Asrar Rehber with a nice header. Rehber, who made a fine run into the box, easily went past his marker and slotted the ball home.
Kashmir extended its lead eight minutes later. This time, the roles were reversed as Rehber provided the assist to a fine Krizo goal. Using his pace, Rehber made a darting run on the right flank before delivering a low cross into the NEROCA box. Krizo, like a poacher on the prowl, found space behind NEROCA defenders Waikhom Rohit Meetei and Ronaldo Nongthombam and connected sweetly with the ball with his left foot to score the second goal.
Stung by the two reverses within 20 minutes, NEROCA tried to regroup and find answers to Real Kashmir’s aggressive brand of football. It tried to build its moves by playing a string of passes but could never really threaten the opposition. Kashmir, on the other hand, dominated the proceedings by winning the battles in the midfield.
The Snow Leopards scored their third goal in the 64th minute, and Krizo was again in the thick of the action. NEROCA was caught in possession as Kashmir players snatched the ball away from them. They moved the ball around quickly to swiftly build a move before Krizo released Jeremy Laldinpuia with a beautifully weighted pass. Laldinpuia didn’t make a mistake as he found the back of the net.
Maksod piled on NEROCA’s misery in the dying minutes by scoring a fourth goal for Real Kashmir.