Bryce Miranda inspire Mumbai FC as they defeat Kenkre FC 2-0 in U-18 I-League opener

by Siddharth Yadav November 15, 2016

14th November 2016: Mumbai FC hosted Kenkre FC in the Under-18 I-League (Maharashtra Zone) at Cooperage Stadium, Churchgate on a cold Monday evening. The host inspired by Bryce Miranda’s brilliance overcame Kenkre FC 2-0 to kick start their campaign on a positive note.

Two second-half goals by Bryce Miranda and Rabiul Shaikh proved to be enough for the Yellow Submarines to see off their counterpart. Moreover, both the sides finished the game with 10 men in a highly intense match at Cooperage.

Mumbai FC started off brilliantly and dominated the match proceedings for the major part of the game. Whereas, Kenkre FC suffered a number of times in the final third which cost them the match.

The first genuine chance of the match came in the 4th minute when Mumbai FC’s Rohan Shukla rolled a perfect pass to Abhishek Patil who unleashed a powerful right-footed shot which was saved brilliantly by Kenkre FC’s Prathamesh Moolchandani.

Six minutes later, Bryce Miranda delivered a pin point ball in the box to Rohan Shukla whose lob came agonizingly close as it just sailed over the crossbar.

Bryce was undoubtedly Mumbai’s best player on the field who created havoc for the majority of the match.

Mumbai FC’s Roysten Castelino also came close to open the scoring in the 19th minute when his long-range shot just went wide of the right-hand post.

The Yellow Submarines’ pressing high up the pitch started to inflict pressure on Kenkre FC in the first half but the visitors held their nerves to concede an early goal.

Midway through the first half, Kenkre FC got their first major opportunity. Sandeep Manoharan’s solo effort almost stunned Mumbai FC’s backline as he dribbled past couple of defenders only to hit his shot wide.

The last chance in the first half came when Mumbai FC’s Captain Kartik Yenurkar almost scored from Azfar Noorani’s corner as his header sailed just wide off the post.

The second half kicked off just the way Mumbai FC wished for. Three minutes into the half, Bryce Miranda produced a moment of magic when he brilliantly found the back of the net with a sublime strike to put Mumbai FC ahead. Bryce’s deserved the goal after all the hard work he did in the first half.

Moments later, Bryce almost had an assist to his name. His cross was almost converted to goal when Azfar’s loose shot rattled the bar.

The Yellow Submarines sealed the match fifteen minutes from time when substitute Rabiul Shaikh scored a solo goal past Prathamesh to hit the final nail in the coffin.

In the last stages of the match, Alok Chauhan (Kenkre FC) and Rabiul Shaikh (Mumbai FC), both were sent off for receiving their second yellow card.

It was a great performance by the host, whereas, for Kenkre FC, they need to convert the half chances and improve their gameplay in the final third.