Millat Football Cup final-day round-up

by Balbir Singh December 7, 2015

On December 6^th, 2015, the 12^th Edition of the Millat Football Cup in association with Millat Nagar Residence Welfare Association (M.N.R.W.A) came to closure with as Blunders defeated Mean Machine by a solitary goal scored by Xavier in the closing moments of the second-half. Meanwhile, Millat sub-junior B won against Millat sub-junior A by 1-0 on penalties in the under-10 category and Millat sub-junior C won in the under-14 category with the most one-sided scoreline amongst all the 3 finals; they defeated Millat sub-Junior A by 5-1.

The under-10 category was played in a triangular format with Millat sub-junior A, B and C participating. The kids played with a great spirit and enjoyed every moment on the field. The final between Millat sub-junior A and B was a tight contest, but Millat sub-junior B clinched the victory by scoring the only goal of the game in the penalty shootout.

The under-14 class, which was played-out in a league format, the opening match saw Millat sub-junior A and C defeated Millat sub-junior B and D by a margin of 4-0 respectively. In the next-round, losers played against each other and winners played against each other, which made it a telling contest as a spectator. Millat sub-junior D defeated Millat sub-junior B 3-1 to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. Meanwhile, Millat sub-junior C defeated Millat sub-junior A 2-0 to book a place in the final. The final-round which saw Millat sub-junior A vs. Millat sub-junior D clash for a place in the final at stake, and with the game ending 1-1 after normal-time, the officials decided to send Millat sub-junior A into the final on the back of their better goal-difference compared to Millat sub-junior D. The final, though wasn’t a pulsating game, but an ease to the eye contest where Millat sub-junior A were easily beated by Millat sub-junior C by 5-1.

In the senior category, six teams battled for the 3 spots which were yet to be filled in the last-16, Vasai Virar United were defeated by Kiran Boys on penalties (3-2) after the game ended at 2-2, Millat F.C Juniors A got the better of Topa Boy 4-1 while, Kalina Village Boys beat Mento 5 by 4-0. In the round-of-16 ties, Kiran Boys were beaten narrowly by Kalina Village Boys by 3-2, Millat F.C Senior beat Catalans F.C 2-1 on penalties (normal time: 1-1), Millat F.C Junior B beat Radicals 3-0, Millat F.C Junior A beat Gunners on penalties; the most high-scoring game of the Millat Cup was A United 0-8 Ben Johnson – Ben Johnson had a man advantage from the start with 5 against 4 men of A United. Trashers were beaten Parle United by 3-1, Blunders, who were debutants this year surprisingly beat Holy Cross 3-0 and Mean Machine beat Park View 2-0 in the competition’s most awaited fixture.

In the last-8, Mean Machine knocked-out Parle United 3-1, Millat F.C Senior were shockingly beaten by their junior B team 3-0, as Blunders beat Millat F.C Junior A 3-0 and Kalina Village Boys narrowly lost out on a semifinal birth to Ben Johnson by 1-0. Both semifinals – in general – provided great entertainment value as Mean Machine and Blunders carved their way into the finals after beating Millat F.C Junior B 2-1 and Ben Johnson 1-0 respectively.

The showdown between the two finalists was a classic one, particularly when one would consider the scoreline – an individual moment of brilliance to narrowly clinch the title. Mixed feelings ran as Mean Machine were beaten by Blunders 1-0, who as aforementioned were debuted, this year. In the history of the cup, the debutants go on to win the title, although Mean Machine were obvious favorites to beat Blunders, but stumbled at the very end in an overall great finale and an excellent 12^th Edition of the Millat Football Cup.