Kenkre FC U-19s came-out as dominant 2-0 winners against St. Sebastian

by Balbir Singh November 17, 2015

Kenkre under-19s ran-out eventual 2-0 winners in the Mumbai District Sports Association’s (M.D.F.A.) Super Division group D fixture against St. Sebastian on 16^th November 2015. Athang Kanekar and Arbaz Sheikh registered their names on the score-sheet as Kenkre under-19s fought-through a hard-earned victory.

In the first ten minutes of the match, Kenkre enjoyed a majority share of attacking pressure. Although, S.S.F.C. recorded the first shot on target in the game on six minutes. On 12 minutes, as Kenkre’s no. 19 Akash Sharma raced through towards a ball which was played in behind the St. Sebastian defence, Shushant Ghogare dragged him back – receiving the game’s first yellow card.

Both side enjoyed an equal share of share of chances as the game progressed. While Kenkre u-19s enjoyed their best spell in attack when a neat orchestra of passes was conducted on 28 minutes, only to fail by disrupting the melodic balance with a poor pass in the final-third.

The goal arrived at Kenkre’s doorstep a few minutes later on 30 minutes when Athang Kanekar – who played his first match for Kenkre under-19s – scored from an unintentional miscued deflected effort from Akash Sharma. Athang Kanekar politely captured the ball under his feet, only to swiftly guide it past Abhi Mahane’s (St. Sebastian goalkeeper) left and into the back of the net.

“It was a good start for him. We (Kenkre F.C.) require young guys to play like this and we want to motivate each and everyone, so that they keep moving ahead,” Kenkre under-19s Coach on Athang’s goal.

As the first-half reached its climax, St. Sebastian bombarded Kenkre with a series of effective attacks, but the Kenkre under-19 battalion safe-guarded their territory to take a 1-0 lead through into the second-half.

The game prematurely opened as the second-half inaugurated; with both sides enjoying more fluid attacking moves in the second-half. In the first-half of play, both sides played a high-line defensive, which meant there were occasions in the game, when there were a total of 20 outfield players featured in one half, which left the attacking team with barely any lines to penetrate into, let alone spaces.

Kenkre under-19s’ Arbaz Sheikh sealed the victory for his side, when his scrappy attempt to guide the ball into the net resulted in success on the 60^th minute mark. Kenkre from there on went on play a pretty conservative brand of football after the second-goal was scored, which led to them left with a few bookings – particularly a yellow card shown to number 25 Arbaz Khan, which many St. Sebastian faithful argued to be Arbaz’s second yellow and not his first – a heated argument changed the atmosphere into that of an unhealthy one.

As the game settled and reached its end, it was too late for S.S.F.C. to find a way to reach the Kenkre goal, which was well marshaled convincingly throughout. Kenkre’s Coach highlighted his team’s mentality in his post-match comments: “The team moved together, we are working as a team, and the team is doing well. We will continue to work as team and get more results.”

For me everyone is doing their jobs rightly and they are giving their 100%, Coach, Kenkre under-19s

The star performer in today’s game was Kenkre under-19s’ Akash Sharma. “He was outstanding for us. He didn’t score, but the work-rate he put in as a striker was amazing,” highlighted his Coach.