Penalties and last-minute heroics grab the spotlight on Day 2

by Vineet Varma January 22, 2019

In what was a football treat, spot-kicks and a last gasp winner held sway on Day 2 of the 2019 Wifa Inter-District Championship Sub-Junior Boys.

Seven games were played at the Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Zilla Krida Sankul Ground on Tuesday.

Jalgaon beat Aurangabad in what was the best game of the day. Last-gasp tackles, flying headers, incredible saves…the game had it all! As both teams resembled punch-drunk boxers Jalgaon delivered the knock-out blow. Ansar Patel’s free-kick winner in the 50^th minute gave the Boys in Green a memorable win.

Jalgaon – 1 (Ansar Patel (50’) beat Aurangabad – 0

Earlier Ahmednagar beat Satara in the first game. Goals from Yash Karale, Joninum Mutha and Rishab Mani helped their cause. Soham Ghadge’s goal was the sole positive for Satara.

Ahmednagar – 3 (Yash Karale (31’), Joninum Mutha (40’), Rishab Mani (46’) beat Satara – 1 (Soham Ghadge (48’))

Sangli beat Jalna in the second game. Viraj Kharat’s early goal had given Jalna a first-half lead. But Sangli roared back in the second and scored through Om Khade and Asnain Rukandi. A volte-face given Sangli’s ragged first-half performance!

Sangli – 2 (Om Khade (31’), Asnain Rukandi (33’)) beat Jalna – 1 (Viraj Kharat (5’))

The third game involving Buldana and Yavatmal went to penalties. The game finished 1-1 in normal time; Buldana held their nerves and won 4-2 in the shootout. A superb free-kick by Yavatmal skipper Rishikesh Chandan is contender for goal of the tournament.

Buldana – 1 (Arjun (15’)); Yavatmal – 1 (Rishikesh Chandan (32’)

• Buldana beat Yavatmal 4-2 on penalties

The fourth game was a watershed as Thane overpowered Beed by five goals. Beed played with only nine players due to player registration issues. All five goals had different scorers. Amster Saldanha was the standout player for Thane.

Thane – 5 (Tarang Koley (4’), Nikhil Shinde (6’), Manav Sharma (16’), Amster Saldanha (36’), Shaunak Mahajan (40’)) beat Buldana – 0

The sixth game was a cliff hanger as Nagpur beat Nandurbar in sudden-death. The game was 1-1 at the end of normal time. Milind Pansare and Rugved Shinde scored for Nagpur and Nandurbar respectively. Nandurbar missed their last three spot kicks to give Nagpur a 4-3 win.

Nagpur – 1 (Milind Pansare (2’)); Nandurbar – 1 (Rugved Shinde (22’))

• Nagpur beat Nandurbar 4-3 in sudden-death

Nashik beat Dhule 2-0 in the final game. Varad Shinde and Shlok Bhalerao scored early in the first-half and ensured a walk in the park for Nashik. Dhule simply couldn’t cope with the attacking quality of Nashik.

Nashik – 2 (Varad Shinde (5’), Shlok Bhalerao (14’)) beat Dhule — 0

Best Player Award: Rishab Mani (Ahmednagar), Om Khade (Sangli), Abdullah Khan (Yavatmal), Amster Saldanha (Thane), John Francis (Jalgaon), Manav Simon (Nagpur) and Shlok Bhalerao (Nashik).

The 2019 Wifa Inter-District Championship Sub-Junior Boys is hosted by the Western India Football Federation (WIFA) and Jalgaon District Football Association (JDFA). Pinch Jeera Masala, Stamina Apple Fizzy Fruit Drink, Mahaveer Classes, Jain Irrigation Systems Pvt. Ltd, WIFA, Jain Sports Academy, Meera Cola and Pride are the major sponsors.

Also Read: Low key affair on Day 4 as Thane grab the spotlight

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