2017–18 Minerva Punjab FC season
| 2017–18 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Ranjit Bajaj | ||
| Head coach | Khogen Singh | ||
| Stadium | Guru Nanak Stadium | ||
| I-League | Winners | ||
| Super Cup | Round of 16 | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Chencho Gyeltshen (7 goals) All: Chencho Gyeltshen (7 goals)  | ||
| Highest home attendance | 8,243 vs East Bengal  (13 February 2018)[1]  | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 3,845 vs Chennai City  (11 December 2017)[2]  | ||
| Average home league attendance | 5,736 | ||
| 
 | |||
The 2017–18 Minerva Punjab F.C. season was the second season in the I-League. They finished the season as I-League Champions becoming the first team from North India to win the I-League since its inception.[3]
Kit
Supplier: Astro[4] / Sponsor: Apollo Tyres[5]
Home 
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Away 
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Coaching staff
- As of 25 November 2017.
 
| Position | Name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | ||||||||||
| Team Manager | ||||||||||
| Physiotherapist | ||||||||||
| Technical Consultant | ||||||||||
| Source: | ||||||||||
Squad information
First-team squad
- As of 11 March 2018[6]
 
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Competitions
Overview
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| I-League | 25 November 2017 | 8 March 2018 | Matchday 1 | Winners | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 61.11 | 
| Super Cup | 2 April 2018 | 2 April 2018 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 0.00 | 
| Total | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 57.89 | ||||
Last updated: 12 March 2018.
Source: Competitions
I-League
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minerva Punjab (C) | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 35 | Qualification to 2019 AFC Champions League qualifier | 
| 2 | NEROCA | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 32 | |
| 3 | Mohun Bagan | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 14 | +14 | 31 | |
| 4 | East Bengal | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 31 | |
| 5 | Aizawl | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 24 | 
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
(C) Champions
Result summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | 
| 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 
Last updated: 9 March 2018.
Source: i-league.org
Results by match
Matches
Win Draw Loss
| 25 November 2017 1 | Minerva Punjab | 1–1 | Mohun Bagan | Ludhiana | 
| 17:30 IST | Moinuddin | 
Report | Sony Norde  Gurjinder Kumar  | 
Stadium: Guru Nanak Stadium Attendance: 5,995 Referee: Umesh Bora Man of the Match: Sony Norde (Mohun Bagan AC)  | 
| 1 December 2017 2 | Minerva Punjab | 2–1 | NEROCA | Ludhiana | 
| 17:30 IST | Chencho Gyeltshen  Lago Dagbo Bei  | 
Report | Felix Chidi Odili  Moirangmayum Ashok Singh Aryn Williams  | 
Stadium: Guru Nanak Stadium Attendance: 5,734 Referee: Senthil Nathan Man of the Match: Chencho Gyeltshen (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 5 December 2017 3 | Indian Arrows | 0–2 | Minerva Punjab | Bambolim | 
| 20:00 IST | Report | William Opoku  Kamalpreet Singh  | 
Stadium: GMC Bambolim Attendance: 776 Referee: Akash Jackson Routh Man of the Match: William Opoku (Minerva Punjab)  | 
| 11 December 2017 4 | Minerva Punjab | 2–1 | Chennai City | Ludhiana | 
| 20:00 IST | William Opoku  Kassim Aidara Bali Gagandeep  | 
Report | Jean-Michel Joachim  Murilo de Almeida Pradeep Mohannraj  | 
Stadium: Guru Nanak Stadium Attendance: 3,845 Referee: Om Prakash Thakur Man of the Match: Kassim Aidara (Minerva Punjab)  | 
| 18 December 2017 5 | Minerva Punjab | 1–0 | Indian Arrows | Ludhiana | 
| 20:00 IST | Chencho Gyeltshen  | 
Report | Stadium: Guru Nanak Stadium Attendance: 5,342 Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta Man of the Match: Dheeraj Singh (Indian Arrows)  | 
| 27 December 2017 6 | Aizawl | 2–1 | Minerva Punjab | Aizawl | 
| 14:00 IST | Kareem Omolaja  Masih Saighani Andrei Ionescu  | 
Report | Chencho Gyeltshen  Amandeep Singh Girik Khosla  | 
Stadium: Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Aizawl) Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Raktim Saha Man of the Match: Léonce Dodoz Zikahi (Aizawl FC)  | 
| 6 January 2018 7 | Gokulam Kerala | 0–1 | Minerva Punjab | Kozhikode | 
| 17:30 IST | Kivi Zhimomi  Emmanuel Chigozie Daniel Ashley Addo  | 
Report | Bali Gagandeep  | 
Stadium: EMS Corporation Stadium Attendance: 4,534 Referee: Senthil Nathan Man of the Match: Bali Gagandeep (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 10 January 2018 8 | Mohun Bagan | 1–2 | Minerva Punjab | Kolkata | 
| 17:30 IST | Kingshuk Debnath  Cameron Watson Kingsley Obumneme  | 
Report | Chencho Gyeltshen  Kassim Aidara William Opoku Rakshit Dagar  | 
Stadium: Salt Lake Stadium Attendance: 5,384 Referee: Umesh Bora Man of the Match: Chencho Gyeltshen (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 14 January 2018 9 | Shillong Lajong | 0–1 | Minerva Punjab | Shillong | 
| 14:00 IST | Daniel Odafin  | 
Report | William Opoku  Kassim Aidara Rakshit Dagar  | 
Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Ranjit Bakshi Man of the Match: Rakshit Dagar (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 27 January 2018 10 | NEROCA | 0–1 | Minerva Punjab | Imphal | 
| 14:00 IST | Govin Singh  | 
Report | Chencho Gyeltshen  Kassim Aidara Guy Eric Dano Altamash Sayed  | 
Stadium: Khuman Lampak Main Stadium Attendance: 17,014 Referee: Palmson Moses Raj Man of the Match: Chencho Gyeltshen (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 30 January 2018 11 | East Bengal | 2–2 | Minerva Punjab | Barasat Stadium | 
| 13:55 IST | Katsumi Yusa Joby Justin Eduardo Ferreira Brandon Vanlalremdika  | 
Report | Sukhdev Singh Chencho Gyeltshen Souvik Das Guy Eric Dano  | 
Attendance: 11,200 Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar Man of the Match: Kiran Chemjong (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 2 February 2018 12 | Churchill Brothers | 2–1 | Minerva Punjab | Vasco da Gama | 
| 17:30 IST | Mechac Koffi  Bektur Talgat Uulu Wayne Vaz Hussein Eldor  | 
Report | Sukhdev Singh  Girik Khosla Kassim Aidara  | 
Stadium: Tilak Maidan Stadium Attendance: 2,442 Referee: Akash Jackson Routh Man of the Match: Wayne Vaz (Churchill Brothers SC)  | 
| 7 February 2018 13 | Minerva Punjab | 3–2 | Shillong Lajong | Panchkula | 
| 14:00 IST | Guy Eric Dano  Bali Gagandeep  | 
Report | Daniel Odafin  Lawrence Doe Novin Gurung  | 
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium Attendance: 6,898 Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar Man of the Match: Bali Gagandeep (Minerva Punjab)  | 
| 13 February 2018 14 | Minerva Punjab | 0–1 | East Bengal | Panchkula | 
| 14:00 IST | Amandeep Singh Bali Gagandeep  | 
Report | Cavin Lobo Mahmoud Amnah Ubaid C.K.  | 
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium Attendance: 8,243 Referee: Ajit Kumar Meitei Man of the Match: Mahmoud Amnah (East Bengal FC)  | 
| 20 February 2018 15 | Minerva Punjab | 0–1 | Gokulam Kerala | Panchkula | 
| 14:00 IST | Randeep Singh  | 
Report | Mohamed Rashid  Mudde Musa Balwinder Singh Henry Kisekka  | 
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium Attendance: 3,890 Referee: Palmson Moses Raj Man of the Match: Bilal Husain Khan (Gokulam Kerala)  | 
| 26 February 2018 16 | Minerva Punjab | 2–0 | Aizawl | Panchkula | 
| 14:00 IST | Akash Sangwan  Akashdeep Singh Armand Bazie  | 
Report | David Lalrinmuana  | 
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium Attendance: 4,428 Referee: Khamruddin Mohammed Avez Man of the Match: Guy Eric Dano (Minerva Punjab FC)  | 
| 2 March 2018 17 | Chennai City | 2–1 | Minerva Punjab | Coimbatore | 
| 17:30 IST | Michael Soosairaj  Dharmaraj Ravanan Aleksandar Rakić Edwin Sydney Vanspaul Asif Kottayil  | 
Report | Chencho Gyeltshen  Souvik Das  | 
Stadium: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Attendance: 7,342 Referee: Santhosh Kumar Bhaskaran Man of the Match: Michael Soosairaj (Chennai City FC)  | 
| 8 March 2018 18 | Minerva Punjab | 1–0 | Churchill Brothers | Panchkula | 
| 17:30 IST | William Opoku  Guy Eric Dano Amandeep Singh  | 
Report | Francis Oneyama  | 
Stadium: Tau Devi Lal Stadium Attendance: 7,852 Referee: Rahul Kumar Gupta Man of the Match: Ricardo Cardozo (Churchill Brothers SC)  | 
Super Cup
Minerva Punjab FC entered the competition in Round of 16 and were drawn against Jamshedpur.[7] However, they lost in the first game in penalty shootouts, concluding the season for I-League champions.
Win Draw Loss
| 2 April 2018 Round of 16 | Minerva Punjab | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)  | Jamshedpur | Bhubaneshwar | 
| Report | Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Attendance: 3,256 Referee: Santosh Kumar Man of the Match: Sanjiban Ghosh (Jamshedpur FC)  | |||
| Penalties | ||||
Awards
Player
| No. | Player | Award | Tournament | Source | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Best Forward of the Tournament | 
References
- ^ "Minerva Punjab vs East Bengal Match Report" (PDF). i-league.org. 13 February 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
 - ^ "Minerva Punjab vs Chennai City Match Report" (PDF). i-league.org. 11 December 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
 - ^ "I-League 2017-18: Minerva Punjab FC clinch maiden title courtesy William Opoku's goal on thrilling last day of season". firstpost.com. 8 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
 - ^ FC, MINERVA PUNJAB (28 November 2017). "We thank all our Sponsors and Partners who backed us for the ongoing @ILeagueOfficial season #chakdephatte #IndianFootball". @Minerva_AFC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
 - ^ FC, MINERVA PUNJAB (24 November 2017). "Join us in welcoming @apollotyres as our official title sponsors for the upcoming @ILeagueOfficial season #chakdephatte". @Minerva_AFC. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
 - ^ "Squad". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
 - ^ "Super Cup 2018: Jamshedpur FC face I-League champions Minerva Punjab and the Round of 16 fixtures". goal.com. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
 - ^ "I-League 2017-18: Minerva Punjab presented with winners' trophy; NEROCA's Gift Raikhan named season's best coach". firstpost.com. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.