Kenkre Champions League: Under- 17 table top finish ends in a thriller, Kenkre fighting out Kenkre!

by Vidhi Shah February 24, 2015

The two months of footballing frenzy as a part of the Kenkre Champions League concluded this Sunday, the 22nd of February at the Don Bosco Grounds, Matunga.

In the Under 17 age demographic, both the Kenkre teams, K- Blues and K- Greens were vying for the top spot on the table separated only by goal difference however, on the final day they were playing different oppositions.

The first match saw K- Blues taking on Goals R Us. Despite,  thorough domination in the first half, the K- Blues were unable to get a break through until half time.

It was heartening to see one parent from Goals R Us video graph his son’s entire match with an aim to motivate him by showing these clips in the future. Before the boys took to the field after the break, the parent encouraged his team to go on and play, “the best 15 minutes of their season.”

But it was not to be, as K- Blues tilted the story of the match upside down for 5-0 drubbing. Shimyu Kumar scored the first of the lot in the 17th minute, couple of minutes later Kashif Sayed slotted the second goal just into the right post. At the 25 minute mark, Mark D’Souza got his team the third goal while Shubham Mane darted in the final two goals, the last one coming in on the 27th minute.

Thus, K- Blues had secured a cushion of 9 on the goal difference in their effort to win the championship.

The second of these matches saw the other Kenkre team, K- Greens eyeing for the cup take on St. Stanislaus. If the previous match was a drubbing, this was a royal drubbing as K- Greens dominated right from the start, scoring 10 goals to not only win the match but also the championship.

Alaister Anthony and Suraj Dalvi both got their names on the score sheet twice in the first half itself. The final goal before the break was scored by Shunthan Pheirei. At half time, the K- Greens were at a formidable 5-0 stage.

The second half saw plenty more fireworks. As per numbers, if they scored 4 goals more they would have a penalty shoot out against K- Blues for the final win but if they scored 5, they would win it then and there!

And the maestro’s did score the required five with Shaun Menezes getting a hatrick, Shunthan scoring one more and Suraj Dalvi sealing the deal for them with the 10th and final goal and achieving his treble!

So, as the value of goal difference was reinforced, K- Greens finished on the first place in front of their very own K- Blues to provide a nail biting finish in the Under- 17 division.

FINAL PRIZES:

• Champions: K- Greens
• Runners up: K- Blues
• Best Coach: Akhil Kothari
• Best Player: Shunthan Pheirei
• Top Goal Scorer: Miguel D’costa
• Best Goal Keeper: Manoj Gupta
• Most Improved Player: Omkar Mahadik
• 6^th Placed Team: Football School of India
• 5^th Placed Team: Goals R Us
• 4^th Placed Team: St. Stanislaus
• 3^rd Placed Team: Spartans