Kenkre FC steal the win as Dena Bank self destruct

by Kaushal Shukla March 8, 2015

Kenkre FC punished a wasteful Dena Bank side as a howler from Asif Ansari gave them a 2-1 win over Bankers in a MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) Elite Division game held at Cooperage on 7th March 2015.

MDFA Elite Division action resumed this week after a month long lay off. Western Railways ran out 3-0 winners over Great Mother FC in the first game after the lay off on Wednesday.

Both Kenkre FC and Dena Bank were in action after a long time and that seemed evident in the opening twenty minutes when both teams were found struggling to get their game going.

But the game burst into life after the twenty minute mark, when Dena Bank were inches away from hitting the front in the 21st minute, after Saad Ansari failed to keep his chipped effort on target after he was in space in front of the Kenkre goal.

There were more chances for the Bankers as Kenkre FC’s goalkeeper Roshan Thokchom failed to clear the ball after coming off the line. But he was bailed out as Shoaib Vindani’s poor touch allowed the Kenkre defenders to block the effort on goal.

Dena Bank’s best chance came in 28th minute when their attacker beat the offside trap to be through on goal. But he held on to the ball for too long, allowing the Kenkre defenders to clear off the line.

Kenkre punished Dena Bank for wasting their opportunities, as they struck against the run of play in the 29th minute as Francisco Dominion’s through ball caught the Dena Bank defence cold allowing Kamran Siddhique to get on the end of it and send a lobbed shot over the onrushing As if Ansari into the back of the net.

The goal was completely against the run of the play and rattled Dena Bank who were almost opened for the second time three minutes later, when Shailesh Jadhav ran into the space in the Dena Bank box, only to fire over.

But Dena Bank soon gathered their thoughts but couldn’t find their finishing boots as they missed yet another good chance in the 34th minute.

Dena Bank were forced into a change just a minute from half time, when Ebad Ansari was stretched off the field to be replaced by Anas Ansari.

Kenkre went into the break with their slender lead intact, but were second best for most of the game. Dena Bank had only themselves to blame for missing series of good opportunities.

But they made no mistakes, when they restored parity through Shoaib Vindani after he finished past Roshan Thokchom from close range.

That was the least the Bankers deserved posing a constant threat to the Kenkre defence all afternoon. The goal lifted Dena Bank who looked the liklier of the two sides to score as the game got past the hour mark.

But it was Kenkre who took the lead in the 69th minute, thanks to an absolute howler from the Dena Bank goalkeeper Asif Ansari who failed to grasp a harmless rolling ball, leaving Kamran Ansari with an open goal to slot home his second and put Kenkre FC on their way to three points.

Dena Bank nearly came up with a perfect response when Hiten Mahida hit his shot straight at the Kenkre goalkeeper four minutes later. Hiten was in some space in front of the Kenkre goal before shooting.

Kenkre FC replaced Francisco Dominic in 78th minute with Arish Sutaria who was the star for them in their previous game, scoring five goals in a 6-4 win over Western Railways.

The manner in which Dena Bank conceded the second goal, completely deflated them as Kenkre boosted by Sutaria’s fresh legs upfront started creating some chances, the most prominent of which came in the 86th minute when Arish Sutaria found himself through on goal, but fired his shot wide of the target.

Kenkre held on to their lead as the final whistle put an end to an afternoon of frustration for Dena Bank who ended up empty handed despite creating a host of chances. But in the end some poor finishing and a massive error from Asif Ansari condemned Dena Bank to yet another defeat.

Kenkre FC on the other hand got away with a substandard performance as they registered a second win on the spin.