Hero Futsal Club Championship: Mohammedan SC kick off on high, Speedforce FC edge Kuppuraj FC, BFC secure thrilling win

by Chittu Shetty November 6, 2021

Day 1 of Hero Futsal Club Championship saw Mohammedan SC kick off on high, Speedforce FC edge Kuppuraj FC and BFC securing thrilling comeback win

The inaugural match of the Hero Futsal Club Championship started with a blast for Mohammedan SC as they staged a dominating performance against Baroda FC. A resounding 9-0 victory for them meant that the Black Panthers made an immediate mark in the tournament.

The club from Kolkata dominated the opening stages of the game, creating chance after chance. An excellent save from Baroda FC goalkeeper Vikramaditya Chhabra ensured that they did not concede an early goal. After the first 5 minutes, it looked like Baroda FC were getting a foothold in the game.

However, Mohammedan SC then made sure that their dominance was reflected on the scoreline. The fireworks started in the 8th minute, as Sandesh Malpote scored the first goal of the Hero Futsal Club Championship. An own goal followed in the 13th minute as Daniel Patel turned a cross into his own net.

The misery was compounded as Om Gurkha scored another own goal, and that put Baroda FC firmly onto the back foot. Sachin Patel scored minutes before halftime to make it 4-0 heading into the break.

Baroda FC started the second half well, creating a bit of pressure but Mohammedan SC again took control of the game and started to score consistently. Rui Carlo, the youngest player in the Hero Futsal Club Championship, aged just 15 years old continued the proceedings in the second half by scoring in the 30th minute. Goals from Hilton Fernandes, Filbert Pereira, and Raghubendra followed, before a stunning long-range strike from player-cum-coach Joshuah Vaz completed the thrashing.

Baroda FC will have a lot to ponder upon before their next game while Mohammedan SC will be buzzing like a bee.

Speedforce FC edge Kuppuraj FC

Encapsulating the spirit of a fast-paced game like Futsal, Speed Force FC and Kuppuraj FC scored 16 goals between themselves in the first match of Group B of the Hero Futsal Club Championship at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Friday, November 5, 2021. Speed Force took the win 9-7.

The game started at supersonic speeds as Ibrahim Ali’s brace and Zubair Bin Sultan’s goal in the first 4 minutes gave Speedforce a 3-0 lead. However, the game had just started and the tide was about to turn. Maria Vivek pulled a goal back in the 9^th minute. What followed after that was an onslaught as Alson, Rajaganapathy and Basith Ahamed scored 3 goals in 4 minutes to put Kuppuraj FC into the lead.

Maria Vivek scored twice just before half-time to complete his hat-trick for Kuppuraj FC, but Ibrahim Ali scored as well to complete a hat-trick of his own. At half-time, it looked like Speedforce would come unstuck as they were trailing by 2 goals against the team from Puducherry.

However, Speedforce FC came out all guns blazing in the second half. Ibrahim Ali scored right after the half-time break, which put Kuppuraj FC into defensive mode. After a difficult patch, Speedforce FC were able to break down the Kuppuraj FC defense again. Ibrahim Ali scored another 2 goals to take his tally to 6 goals in the game.

This had put the Hyderabad-based side in the lead but Austin Jijo scored for Kuppuraj to level the game at 7 apiece. It looked like the game was heading for a draw, but Speedforce FC had the last laugh as Shubham Dayma scored in the 35^th minute and skipper Mohammed Jawaad Hussain ensured that they took all 3 points home by scoring in the 37^th minute.

BFC kick-off with a thrilling comeback victory against Sporting Clube de Goa

It was a tale of two halves as Bengaluru FC made a stunning comeback from one-goal down to stage an enthralling 3-2 victory over Sporting Clube de Goa at the final matchup on the first day of Hero Futsal Club Championship 2021-22 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Friday (November 5, 2021).

Both teams in Group B started with a safety-first approach to assess the opponents first. Sporting opened the scoring six minutes to the end of the first half through Llyod Cardozo. Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC went one man down as the referee gave the marching orders to Shighil in the 9th minute.

It was a box-to-box affair as both teams tried to breach opponents more than often, but eventually the Flaming Orange could hold on to the slender 1-0 lead till the halftime whistle.

As the second half started, Sporting Clube de Goa’s numerical advantage blew off as Clive Miranda was on the receiving end of marching orders. Six minutes later, Rohit Totad joined the party for the Goa outfit to double the lead. Seconds after the clock crossed the half-hour mark, Bengaluru FC’s effort finally paid off as Macarton Nickson breached the Sporting defense.

Since then, it was all Blues as they thudded attack after attack to penetrate the opponents twice and open their campaign with an all-important win. Skipper Robin Yadav intercepted a ball in the other half of the court and scored the equalizer seven minutes to the final whistle.

The Sporting boys tried to stage a winner in the dying embers of the match but failed to thwart the resurgent Blues from scoring the winning goal. An unmarked Edwin Rosario wrapped up the win seconds before the final whistle.

Sporting Clube de Goa will challenge Kuppuraj FC next at 05:00 PM on Sunday (November 7, 2021) followed by Bengaluru’s face-off with Speed Force at 07:30 PM on the same day.

For Trial related updates: Latest trials updates in Mumbai Football

Also Read: Eurosport to broadcast the inaugural season of Hero Futsal Club Championship

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