FC India (MFC) & ICL Payyade in 1st Division semis

by Siddharth Yadav April 7, 2018

6th April 2018, Mumbai: The remaining two First Division quarter-finals concluded on Friday afternoon at the St. Xavier’s Ground, Parel. In the first game, ICL Payyade SC played Indian Cultural League (ICL), whereas, in the second game, Wellingdon Catholic Gymkhana locked horns against FC India ‘MFC’. In an intense encounter, ICL Payyade ran out as the winners alongside FC India as both the outfits joined Skorost and Atlanta in the semi-finals of First Division.

ICL Payyade SC (Michael Deinele 44′ and Nico Gonsalves 69′) 2-0 Indian Cultural League (ICL)

Undoubtedly, one of the most heated clashes of the season. In what turned out to be a controversial quarter-final fixture, ICL Payyade SC overcame Indian Cultural League (ICL) 2-0 to book their place in the semi-final. After an eventful start and series of missed chances, the deadlock was finally broken just before the half-time when Michael Deinele opened the scoring for ICL Payyade with a wonderful finish.

Indian Cultural League (ICL) pushed forward to find the all-important equalizer but ICL Payyade stood firm and strong at the back to shield their one-goal lead. In the 69th minute, Nico Gonsalves doubled the lead which sealed the game for ICL Payyade as the game was abandoned by the referee a couple of minutes later due to protest on the field after ICL’s manager was sent off for dissent.

Wellingdon Catholic Gymkhana (Eric Dowling 3′) 1-2 FC India ‘MFC’ (Sanath Valladares 18′ & 59′)

In the last quarter-final game, Wellingdon Catholic Gymkhana went down fighting to an in-form FC India side as they crashed out from the quarter-final. After taking an early lead through Eric Dowling in the third minute, Wellingdon enjoyed a brief spell of dominance before star player Sanath Valladares levelled the score with a delicate finish.

The tempo of the game was high throughout the match. But it was FC India who made the best out of their chances. Just before the hour-mark, Sanath scored once again to put FC India in front with a fabulous strike. FC India went on to defend their solitary lead to prevail into the last four.