Ten men Central Railways pip sluggish Kenkre FC

by Kaushal Shukla October 9, 2015

Central Railways lead Kenkre FC 2-1 at half time in an Elite Division game of the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) held at Cooperage on Friday, 9th October 2015.

Central Railways who returned from Bhusaval as victors made a positive start against Kenkre FC, dominating possession. But they were almost opened up by a swift Kenkre counter attack in the 8th minute when Arish Sutaria found his way into the box only to have his effort saved by the goalkeeper.

But four minutes later, Kenkre goalkeeper couldn’t do anything about Rashid Shaikh’s header from a Ajinkya Nalavade’s which sailed into the net as Central Railways grabbed the lead.

The Kenkre FC defence were caught flat footed as Nalavade was given all the space in the world to pick out Rashid Shaikh who was completely unmarked in the box.

Central Railways who had a spring in their step won a free kick just on the edge of the box a minute later. Sumesh Nair converted from the free kick after his rather tame effort beat the Kenkre FC goalkeeper Narender Singh.

Kenkre who were looking totally out of sorts were seeking some inspiration and they got it in the 30th minute, when a beautifully threaded pass saw Arish Sutaria’s effort saved by Pradeep Kumar, but the rebound fell kindly to Prathamesh Rokade whose shot crossed the line before the Central Railways defender cleared it. It was a good spot from the linesman as Kenkre got back into the game.

The goal livened up Kenkre FC and they should have been on level terms when Arish Sutaria escaped the last man in the 40th minute but his touch to get past the goalkeeper was too heavy and the ball went out of play.

There was a moment of great controversy in the penultimate minute of the half when Rashid Shaikh was sent off for a reckless tackle on Kenkre FC’s Shaun Fernandes. But video evidence suggested that referee Crystal J. probably got his decision wrong as there was little malice in Rashid Shaikh’s tackle.

The first half ended with Central Railways in front but were vulnerable to a Kenkre FC fightback as the game was brilliantly poised.

But the ten men of Central Railways came out with a positive mindset and nullified Kenkre FC in the second half.

Arish Sutaria missed Kenkre FC’s best chance of the half when he blasted his shot over the crossbar as the ball fell to him after Central Railways failed to deal with a set piece in the 49th minute.

Kenkre FC failed to get any kind of hold on the game in the second half as Central Railways confortable dealt with whatever that was thrown at them.

Central Railways Sajandeep Singh was unlucky not to increase Cental Railways lead in the 55th minute when his shot from the edge of the box wentbinches wide of the target.

Kenkre FC threw on Yash Mhatre in place of Abuzer Beg on the hour mark but it had little impact on the game.

Central Railways held on for a crucial win as their ten men did extremely well against a sluggish Kenkre FC side.

Rashid Shaikh once again starred with his goal scoring exploits but were on the wrong end of refereeing mistake.