Tempers flare as Sea View SC’s encounter with PIFA Colaba U-19 ends in a stalemate

by Kaushal Shukla March 18, 2015

There was very little to choose between Sea View Sports Club and Premier Indian Football Academy (PIFA) Colaba U-19 as the 1st Division match of the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA), which saw both teams reduced to ten men ended in a 1-1 draw. The game was held at the St. Xavier’s Ground in Parel on 17th March 2015.

The signs of a closely fought encounter were seen early on, as both sides were wary of each other in the opening ten minutes of the first half. Both sides seemed to gauging their respective opponents and that made it a cagey affair.

It took twenty five minutes for the first opening to come and it was the Colaba side to conjure it up when Saif Shaikh was brilliantly played in on goal by a clever pass from the midfield, only for the forward to take it too wide and shooting straight to Saurabh Gajra in goal for Sea View.

The chance seem to trigger a good period for PIFA Colaba as some quick play forced a rash tackle from Sea View’s Harshil Somaiya which rightly produced a yellow card for him.

PIFA Colaba’s slight lift in their play was rewarded in the 30th minute when a long ball from the PIFA defense caught the Sea View rearguard flat-footed allowing Saif Shaikh a free run on goal as he made no mistakes in putting it away and give PIFA Colaba a crucial lead.

But the lead did not last too long as Sea View struck against the run of play with a cracking finish from Sairaj Naidu whose pin point effort zipped into the bottom corner giving no chance to Harshal Tandel in goal.

That was the last piece of real action of a first half that burst into life in the last five minutes after a rather subdued opening half hour’s play.

The second half began with a moment of slight controversy when Piram Master bundled over a Sea View SC offender which earned his name a place in the referee’s book in the 38th minute.

Four minutes later, PIFA colaba had a chance to go ahead when their substitute nearly scored with his first touch.
The game which was being played at a decent tempo, slowed down and players began to tire and the game became a lot more physical.

The game reached its boiling point in the 54th minute when Harshil Somaiya’s tackle left Aftab Khan of PIFA Colaba unimpressed, resulting in a strong and unlawful reaction. After the referee calmed down a brawl like scenario, he booked both of those who were involved and that spelt the end of the duo’s game after the duo were already booked in the first half.

With both teams down to ten men, there was bit more of space for the teams to exploit. But it was Sea View SC who ended the game strongly as they held plenty of possession in PIFA’s half.
Despite a couple of chances, Sea View couldn’t find the vital moment to give them all three points as the game ended in a stalemate.

It was a fair reflection of the game as both sides pretty much matched each other over the course of the seventy minutes and accordingly both camps seemed fairly satisfied with the return of their afternoon’s work.