Customs vs UBI – A clash of two underdogs

by Siddharth Yadav January 4, 2018

4th January 2018, Mumbai: Two sides who have been quite unpredictable this season, Mumbai Customs and Union Bank of India (UBI), will face-off later today in the MDFA Elite Division encounter at Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri, where they would be hoping to bounce back after suffering defeats at the hands of table-toppers Air India.

Both the outfits are having a wonderful campaign so far, just one of those underdogs sides. On one hand, UBI is third in the table while Customs is just below them at the fourth spot. After a great start to the season, it was Air India who halted their good run. UBI lost 3-0, whereas, Customs lost 1-0 at the hands of the defending champions Air India.

What impressive is, in the previous seasons, it was all about Air India and ONGC in the Elite Division at this time of the season. But UBI and Customs have risen to the occasion this season after proving their doubters wrong. It will be quite astonishing for both Mumbai Football and these two sides if they manage to finish at least in the top 3.

UBI’s top scorer Scott D’Souza would be hoping to get back on the scoresheet who has scored six times this season, whereas, Customs’ talismanic striker Francisco Salin would surely try to emulate his hat-trick performance which he bagged against Mumbai Strikers.

The midfield battle will be the key later today. Valentine Pereira, Shannon Pereira, Suraj Negi/Bryce Miranda will be up against John Coutinho, Praneel Mendon, Jinto Jose/Mathias Coutinho. There is experience, skill and creativity in both these sets of players.

At the back, Customs’ bulldog Hekmat Singh and Joshua Vessoakar are touted to play an influential role while ever-reliable Dion Menezes and Sherwyn Chang would be the one to watch out for. Between the sticks, it will be Liyaz Kaya against Ismail.

Kick-off: 03:30 pm at Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri.