The game began at a frantic pace with both teams attacking at either end to gain the all important lead. Companeroes defence managed to keep KSA’s in form striker Ahiri Uchela at bay by clearing their lines from Ryan Kolarikkal’s continuous penetrative crosses from the left. The KSA defence on the other hand were caught surprised as they had to deal with an unknown measure in Companeroes debutant & new foreign recruit Steven Olyevuchi, his speed and strength proved to be menacing on quite a few occasions, early in the first half.

Karnataka Sporting were caught on the back foot midway through the first half, when a shot by Reed Santos clearly came off the hand of one of their defenders inside the box, the referee made no hesitation in pointing to the spot. KSA had their goalkeeper Kishen Sulegai to thank, after he pulled of a brilliant save from Jardin Braganza’s penalty kick, diving to his right.

The 2nd half saw KSA  pressing higher with Souvaid Ansari and Valentine Pereira pulling the strings from midfield. Ahiri Uchela did well to keep Companeroes custodian Wren D’Abreo on his toes, after he managed to make some attempts on goal despite close attention from Fazil Sheikh. The Nigerian was handed a brilliant opportunity in the 60th minute when he was put through the middle by Tarique Ansari but it was an outstretched Wren D’Abreo’s fingertips that denied KSA the lead.

Companeroes got back into the game with some consistent passing in the midfield as Joshua Vessaokar and Reed Santos combined well to take the Red and Yellow attack forward. Their efforts paid dividends in the 74th minute when Steven Olyevuchi latched on to a loose ball outside the KSA box, after a cross from the left was not properly dealt with. Steven’s square pass was perfectly met by Joshua, who made a clever run into the box and unleashed a rasping shot with his left foot. The goal came as a big boost to Companeroes talisman Joshua Vessaokar, making his return to the team after a year’s absence.

KSA tried to claw their way back into the game dominating possession and making attempts at the Companeroes goal but were denied on every occasion. The frustration took to them as Ahiri Uchela was shown the red card for an off the ball incident in the 80th minute, when he deliberately elbowed Fazil Sheikh in the face. The task got all the more difficult for KSA, being down to 10 men. Companeroes Nigerian import Steven Olyevuchi had a glorious opportunity to grab his debut goal and further the lead in the closing stages but was unfortunate to see his effort come off the upright with KSA keeper Kishen Sulegai rooted to the spot.

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It was quiet a surprise when newly promoted KSA took the lead through Tarique Ansari in the 24th minute, when he latched on to a rebound after the Air India keeper struggled  to deal with a powerful shot from Ahiri Uchena.

Air India came back  with an immediate reply as they grabbed the equalizer just 2 minutes later, Ashkar C.V’s goal bound shot took a wicked deflection of a KSA defender completely beating Kishan Sulegai in goal  for KSA.

Although the goal never seemed to deter the new comers, as they continued to attack with the same vigour, their efforts were rewarded in the 34th minute when Ahiri Uchena did brilliantly to control a long throw by Fabian and converted the opportunity with ease.

Air India were quick to reduce the margin again in the 42nd minute with Praveen Sharma’s composed finish after they took advantage of KSA being down to 10 men, when Souvaid Ansari was sent off by referee Abhishek Dey for a second yellow card offence just minutes earlier. Both teams went into the break with a the scores tied at 2 a piece.

KSA knew they would have a rough ride in the 2nd half playing with just 10 but much credit to their players: Captain and stopper back Shabbir Ali, Sam Cruz, Sherwyn Chang & Valentine Pereira, who did all the hard work to keep Air India from getting that all important goal that would put them in the lead.

It took Air India until the 88th minute to break KSA’s water tight defence, all be it by an unfortunate own goal when keeper Kishan failed to collect a cross from the left flank, misjudging the flight of the ball, unexpectedly it went in off a deflection from Ryan Kolarikkal who was caught  completely unaware  as he was covering for Kishan right behind him. The goal then opened the flood gates for another two after the 90, as a demoralized KSA looked to have given up the fight towards the end.

Air India completed the rout with goals by Vijith Shetty in the 93rd and Sagar Chile in the 94th minute making the scoreline a convincing 5-2.

It was quite a show by Karnatak Sporting Association, despite the loss the newly promoted side gave the defending champions a run for their money with a resolute performance in their very first game of the Elite division.

The win has now put Air India in the 3rd spot behind Mumbai Customs having a superior goal difference with 7 points after 3 games.

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The heavy weights dominated the entire game keeping ball possession and controlling the pace of the game at will.

Mumbai FC began attacking right from the start with experienced campaigner Paresh Shivalkar making all the running down the right, a low cross in from the winger found the head of Pradeep Mohanraj in the very 4th minute but the header was directed straight onto the crossbar.

Dena Bank looked well organized in the defence as they kept denying the Mumbai FC strikers on various occasions. Mumbai FC had a lethal advantage with right back Rahul Bheke’s long throws causing all sorts of problems for Dena Bank.

In the 17th minute Asif Ansari pulled off a stunning one handed save after Justin Stephen headed the ball towards goal from a Rahul Bheke long throw. The Dena Bank resistance was then broken in the 25th minute when a quickly taken corner was played short to Shivalkar, who made his way into the box, beating two defenders to sqaure the ball to an unmarked Manuel D’Souza for a first time shot into the goal.

With Mumbai FC’s continuous attacks Dena Bank cleverly tried to exploit the vacant spaces in their defence, in the 40th minute a swift counter attack began with a long ball being played towards the right flank, Hiten Mahida contested for an aerial duel with Kali Alaudeen after the ball was centered into the Mumbai FC box, the loose ball fell straight to Sajjid Ansari who’s shot went well over the bar.

The 2nd half saw more of a drab performance by the Mumbai FC strikers who failed to capitalize on any of their chances in the final third but much credit to the Dena Bank defence who held firm and put up a spirited performance to keep out the Mumbai FC attacks despite the introduction of Brazilian Josimar midway through the half.

The Brazilian did brilliantly to hold the ball with his physique and stature making it difficult for the Dena Bank players to take the ball off him, Josimar did well to play in John Coutinho on one such occasion but John fired his shot just inches over the bar from a narrow angle.

Mumbai FC’s second goal came through a contentious decision in the 75th minute, when a cross by Paresh Shivalkar caught Dena Bank right back, Noel Rodrigues square on the shoulder but Referee Louis Fernandes saw otherwise and awarded a penalty much to the surprise of the Dena Bank players. The decision stood despite the protests of the players and Paresh Shivalkar stepped up to the spot, to calmly convert his penalty throwing Asif Ansari to the wrong side and comfortably placing the ball to his right.

The goal put Mumbai FC in a commanding position for them to see off the game with a few minutes left to be played. Mumbai FC currently occupy the top spot with 9 points, Mumbai Customs with 7 points are in 2nd position both having played three games each.

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St.Joseph’s Mira Road Crowned Champions At Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana

St.Joseph’s Mira Road drew first blood through striker Shravan Shetty, all against the run of play in a half dominated entirely by the Mahim side. The 2nd half started with a bang, two quick fire goals, the first, a clever solo run from the defence by Suraj Negi caught all the Victories players off guard as he did well to finish the ball past Johnson De Silva. The second came from their talisman Aaron D’Costa as his clinical strike left Our Lady Of Victories trailing by the 3 goals.

But the defending champions were not going to give up easily, chasing the game they committed forward with wave after wave of attacks on the Mira Road goal. Their efforts paid dividends as Fabian Fernandes pulled one back for Our Lady Of Victories. At 3-1 the story of the game could have been a lot different had Fabian converted another brilliant opportunity from Brolin D’Souza’s goal bound cross which could have reduced the margin. Brolin then grabbed another goal for Victories to make the score 3-2 with another 2 mins left to play.

Some brave defending and outstanding saves by Nevil D’Souza helped St.Joseph’s Mira Road see out the final few minutes as they emerged victorious to take home their maiden title.

For all his good work under the bar, St.Joseph’s Mira Road’s shot stopper Nevil D’Souza was awarded the ‘Best Player Of The Final’.

Their hard working striker Shravan Shetty was awarded the ‘Best Player Of The Tournament’. Undoubtedly these two were the key performers amongst the others, for the Mira Road side as they went on to upset some of the big names in this tournament to be crowned champions

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Mumbai Customs, seemingly one of the in form sides in the division, made a fearless start, not giving Air India enough freedom to operate. It was a very cagey opening with the game being won and lost in the midfield in the early minutes.

The Airmen then decided to up the tempo a bit with Siddharth Nayak and Vijith Shetty doing a lot of running and supplying their strikers with some very good balls.

Air India came close at the half hour mark when Wayne Vaz putted a long ball from the defence to Neil Gaikwad on the right flank, he chased the ball and did well to play a cross to the top of the box for Jonychand Singh, whose feeble effort fell straight in the hands of Lihaz Koya but Jonychand wasn’t to be denied on his second attempt, as a few minutes later, Sagar Chile managed to hold off two Customs defenders to cut the ball back across towards Jonychand from the left, who unleashed a cracker to right of a hapless Koya in the Customs goal to hand Air India a vital goal, going into the break.

Mumbai Customs tried to get their act together in the second half but it was the the Airmen again who dominated the early stages of the 2nd half.

Air India had a penalty claim waved off by referee Firoz Ali in the 47th minute, when Siddhart made in roads towards the goal, playing a one two with Jonychand, as he moved inside the box Lihaz Koya misjudged his timing to meet the ball only to take Siddhart off his feet. Customs were very lucky to get away with the decision in their favour as the referee handed out a yellow card to Siddhart for simulation.

The game got evenly balanced with both teams attacking the opponents goal at regular intervals, Sagar Chile headed wide from a good cross from the right for Air India and Deepak Irmali came close to scoring for Customs in the 57th minute after he did brilliantly to control a long ball played in by Mathais Coutinho, and made his way towards goal beating the right back on pace but his shot was well saved by keeper Rahul Chanda.

A tactical move by coach Conrad Pereira saw Francisco Salin taking to the field in the 60th minute. The move paid dividends as Mumbai Customs began to play with a new found confidence, as he made some penetrating runs from wide positions, opening up the play for his team. One such move proved effective in the 67th minute, when a ball by Praneel Mendon was met by Francisco on the right, who got past the Air India left back and beat him to play a square ball towards Mathais Coutinho in the box. Mathais, on spotting the on rushing keeper laid the ball off unselfishly for Deepak Irmali, who powered home with a left footed shot.

Knowing they had a chance to snatch a point from the defending champions, Mumbai Customs began over committing with some reckless tackles and they were made to pay when they had Nafeez C sent off in the 75th minute for an unfair challenge, as he earned his 2nd yellow card of the game.

Customs had to see of the last 20 mins of the game being a man down and Air India took every opportunity of this advantage but failed to capitalize on their chances. Baldeep Singh went close after a lung bursting run down the right flank making his way inside the box, he took a rasping shot that unfortunately came off the post.

Anees CK squandered a golden chance after the hard working Jonychand played in a beautiful cross that Anees controlled well but fired his shot wide of the goal. Customs rallied for the last few minutes with some very good defending to hold Air India to a 1-1 draw.

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Mumbai FC being a much more experienced side, made the most of it right from the off, asking questions of the Kenkre defence with Abhishek Ambekar going close in the early minutes of the game.

With Mumbai FC piling on the pressure, it din’t take much long for them to get on the scoreboard, going into the lead in the 15th minute when a cross from left back Allan Dias into the box was cleared by a Kenkre defender towards Manuel D’Souza, who played it to Cletus Paul, the tall & lanky striker having a powerful shot on him did the rest, sending the ball past a hapless Sabeesh under the Kenkre bar.

Cletus Paul seemed to be enjoying himself upfront with the service from Mumbai FC’s quality midfiled, with another effort on goal after a pin point cross by John Coutinho was met by him as he rose highest in the box, only to see his header denied by the post.

Mumbai FC looked in cruise control, dominating the game, keeping a large share of the ball possession and attacking at will, with their Japanese import Taisuke Matsugae and Pradeep Mohanraj pulling the strings from midfield and initiating most of the moves during the game.

In the 39th minute their efforts payed dividends as a good flow of passes in middle lead to a through ball for Cletus Paul, confident from his earlier strike he made no hesitation in putting the ball past the keeper yet again, giving Mumbai FC a 2-0 lead going into the break.

On the other side of halftime Kenkre came all out, knowing a goal could bring them back into the game. The play kept picking up pace with Kenkre trying to lauch some attacks of their own but it was the experience of the Mumbai FC centre back Kali Alaudeen, that proved to be a stumbling block for Kenkre, as he kept breaking up their attacks.

Mumbai FC then weathered the storm and got back into the game, making passes and keeping the ball as the Kenkre players kept going around in circles. The frustration got to them as Yash Mhatre got sent off in the 70th minute by referee Richard Dixon, for use of abusive language.

Another player having a great day on the field was left back Allan Dias, a player who caught the eye with his deadly crosses and creativity down the left flank, all his hard work was rewarded in 83rd minute when John Coutinho whipped in a corner kick which was headed across goal by Justin Stephen, Allan took his chance, sending the ball home and putting the game to bed with an acrobatic finish. Mumbai FC with this sort of performance from their players are looking like a powerful force and solid contenders in the division.

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Riding on experienced players like Arif & Sajid Ansari in the middle, Dena Bank had an easy going in the early stages of the first half, as a combination of good passes and clinical understanding between the two gave the Companeroes midfield and defence all sorts of problems.

And their efforts were rewarded in the 28th minute when an aerial ball by Arif Ansari found Sajid Ansari on the right flank, who did well to run down the touch line to square the ball for an unmarked Prakash Khatti to slot home from close range, giving Dena Bank the lead.

The goal gave Dena Bank enough leeway as they kept attacking the Companeroes goal, their second goal came in the last minute of the half, when a corner kick taken by Sajid Ansari was initially cleared by Jardin Braganza but fell straight to Arif Ansari who fired a bullet on the volley which ended in the back of the net despite Nikhil Pal’s desperate effort on the goal line.

Being 2 goals down Companeroes began fighting a lost cause in the 2nd half as they started to build some momentum with some good play but were just not able to apply the finishing touches.

With the youngsters dominating the half, a little bit of tiredness and complacency crept into the Dena Bank side, with players throwing reckless tackles and committing needless fouls and they were made to pay for it in the 79th minute, when a foul on Muddasir Ansari right outside the box gifted a freekick to Companeroes and up stepped Reed Santos, who gracefully converted the free kick with just enough power and accuracy to beat the Dena Bank keeper.

The goal came as a big boost as it reduced the margin to one goal and increased the possibility of Companeroes getting something out of the game for their efforts in the 2nd half and rightly so in the dying minutes of the game, Reed Santos stole the show with a late goal after some good work by Nikhil Pal opened up the play for Reed, who took on the left back and unleashed a good strike on the run to put the ball past Asif Ansari in the Dena Bank goal.

The late equalizer meant that both teams shared the spoils in quite an exciting encounter, here at the Cooperage

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Mumbai Customs boasting some of the most talented footballers in the city seemed to have some what of an easy outing against the experienced MS Police side. Customs piled on the pressure from the very start with Deepak Irmali going close in the 8th minute. Soon after which, Mathais Coutinho then tested the MSP goalkeeper with a powerful shot, from a well timed through ball by Deepak.

The Police shook of some of this early pressure with an attack of their own in the 30th minute, when some good work by their talisman Faraz Shaikh, presented an opportunity to Moshin Khan, who took a crack at the Customs goal only to be denied by a brilliant save from Lihaz Koya.

But that wasn’t enough to put down the Customs attack, which payed dividends in the 35th minute as they broke the deadlock when an effort from Sagar Bedekar took a slight deflection off Nitin Warti to beat the goalkeeper. Customs coach Conrad Pereira was much elated with his team going into halftime with a 1 goal lead

Mumbai Customs began the 2nd half from exactly where they left off with another addition to their attack in Francisco Salin. It was Mathais Countinho again, who kept the MSP goalkeeper busy with a shot on target, after a good move by Sagar Bedekar. Customs then doubled their lead in the 51st minute, a long throw into the box from Ashirwad Hegde  was met by Mathais, who flicked it across goal. It was Nafeez who took a wild attempt in the goal melly but Gilroy Aranha made sure the ball ended in the back of the net.

Customs though, conceded a very soft goal a few minutes later. In the 65th minute, a long aerial ball from Faraz Shaikh created confusion in the Customs defense, a miscommunication  between  Gilroy Aranha and Lihaz Koya handed  striker Azhar Shaikh with an easy opportunity to get a goal back for the Police.

The goal was a little bit of a boost for MSP, with the momentum swinging their way, they came close to scoring again, Azhar Shaikh had a good effort on goal saved by Lihaz Koya.

Customs held on to win the game, although the scoreline could have been much worse for MS Police, if it had not been for the number of missed chances from the Mumbai Customs forward line but it was the 3 points that mattered the most, providing them with a good start to their campaign.

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It was Western Railway who got the better of the early exchanges as PT Somi’s through ball in the 13th minute of play was well intercepted by striker Charanjeet Singh, who broke clear of the offside trap set by Central Railway’s defense to net the first goal of the game.

With a one goal cushion, Western hogged most of the ball possession and their midfield was at it again, when a good passing move was directed towards Charanjeet Singh on the left flank, on spotting Tarun Nirwan making the run inside the box, Charanjeet provided a pin point delivery which Tarun comfortably tapped in for the 2nd goal.

Central Railway never gave up hopes & look determined to claw their way back into the game. In the 2nd half, they did just that, keeping the pressure on the Western defense, a corner kick from Krishna Naidu in the 52nd minute was misjudged and fell to the feet of Central Railway’s Chetan Waghela, who did well to shimmy past a defender and slot the ball home.

Just 2 minutes later though, Central Railway’s hard work was all undone with an unfortunate handball in the box, a cross from Clayton D’souza caught Krishna Naidu square on the hand and  referee Tapash Ghosh made no hesitation in pointing towards the spot. Western Railway’s most experienced player PT Somi stepped up to take the penalty and he made no mistake, as he converted the spot kick with ease.

Having the lead Western Railway looked vulnerable, with a lot of  mistakes in defense, fortunately for them Central’s striker Karim Shaikh was having an off day with many missed chances, the best of them being, when a clearance from Western Railway’s goalkeeper Nisarulla Khan, came off Karim’s back and fell right into his path, he did well to dribble past him but was unable to place the ball in an empty net.

Fighting a lost cause, Central did not give up hopes. They got another goal in extra time through Zubair Desai who headed the ball in from a wonderful cross by Krishna Naidu but it was a little too late as the game ended 3-2 in favor of Western Railway.

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Goans dominated the game right from the start to finish. Having an experienced campaigner in Diago Fernandes playing in the midfield, Goans had their task cut off as his presence was enough for them to dominate the play, although some lack luster finishing from their strikers was the only reason for an unconvincing scoreline.

It took a moment of brilliance from Rakesh Dhanu in the 60th minute, when he perfectly timed his run to meet a through ball from the midfield and made no mistake with the finish by flicking the ball over the onrushing keeper. Spartans on the other hand, having come up against a strong opposition in Goans, had very few chances during the game.

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