Sudeva Delhi FC stormed into the finals of the Reliance Foundation Developmental League (RFDL) courtesy a 1-0 victory on Thursday night in Navi Mumbai. They will now lock horns with Bengaluru FC (BFC) at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) on 14th May.

The team from the national capital netted in the 67th minute as defender Chungkham Jackson pulled off a delicate chipped pass that forward Seilenthang Lotjem brought down with perfection and then put it past RFYC goalkeeper Ranit Sarkar to help the visiting side get a foot ahead in the proceedings.

Sudeva followed it up by tightening their backline and thwarting the waves of attacks that RFYC inflicted on them later on. The victory is significant as RFYC had cruised into the semi-finals unbeaten in both the regional qualifiers as well as in their National Group Stage matches.

RFYC, though, will be aiming to finish their campaign on a high as they take on ATK Mohun Bagan in the third-place playoff match on Saturday.

“This defeat itself is the biggest takeaway for the boys, so, looking forward for more from them. Of course, we have another game just coming up. We have the chance of becoming a top three team in our country. The Next Generation Cup is also coming up. So, our preparations start from tomorrow. Our heads are always up,” RFYC coach and former India international Arata Izumi reflected on the result in the aftermath of the game.

On the other side, Sudeva coach Chencho Dorji said “I want to win. But, let us see, more than that the most important thing is to enjoy and learn in every game,” about the team’s upcoming final clash against Bengaluru FC. “We came up very strongly. We got a goal and I was pretty sure that every team is normal I think,” he added as he addressed RFYC and the challenge that they presented in front of Sudeva.