The Men in Yellow were at their clinical best as they struck when it mattered the most and waltzed home with the three points. The floodgates opened when Sachin Rawat put in an accurate ball from the left to Mahesh Kotkar as the latter hit home in the 17th minute. 1-0 and the goal proved to be a major confidence booster!

Iron Born surprisingly was ineffective in front of goal despite holding on to a chunk of possession in the first half. Was it nerves that got to them that they couldn’t finish off the half dozen chances in front of goal? Their profligacy came to haunt them as Juhu’s lynch pin Tyson Pereira latched on to a long ball and comprehensively beat off last man Shivanshu Rao before lobbing it past the goalkeeper in the 42nd minute.

Also, Rawat was a menace on the left flank as he carved open the CFCI defence numerous times. The best chance came on the stroke of the first half as he cut inside and beat two defenders only to hit the crossbar!  Though the first half finished 2-0 to Juhu still going by how things had panned out it looked only a matter of time before Juhu would hit the target. And it came in the 75th minute when Prathamesh Kamble dribbled past a defender on the right and slammed it past the onrushing goalkeeper in the 75th minute. 3-0 and it was game over for CFCI!

That goal totally deflated CFCI as they looked content to see out the rest of the game. And as the referee blew for the final whistle…Pereira and Juhu had set the tone for what may prove to be a thrilling set of playoff games. As for CFCI…they simply ran out of ammunition!

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The first half ended at 1-1 as Juhu struggled to break down stubborn defending.

Mervin Kurisingal gave Springfield the lead in the 7th minute only for Nickinson Misquitta to level the scoreline in the 32nd minute. A peach of a goal it was for Juhu!

If a closely contested first half finished at 1-1 the second was the polar opposite.

Pereira came in for Misquitta in the 55th minute and made all the difference!

He beat a defender on the left and set up Mahesh Kotkar for an easy tap in in the 63rd minute. 2-1 and Juhu was on a roll!

Prathamesh Kamble joined the party as he slammed home in the  73rd minute. 3-1 and Springfield was falling apart!

As Pereira’s cheeky shot rebounded off a defender’s hand inside the box… the referee had no hesitation as he pointed to the spot!

Nickel D’Souza held his nerve and dispatched it past the goalkeeper in the 76th minute. 4-1 and Juhu was cruising home!

It was poetic justice that Pereira curled in an 84th minute strike and made it 5-1 for Juhu.

A super performance from the super sub!

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The first half had finished goalless thanks to rock-solid defending by both teams. Juhu didn’t have Tyson Pereira in their ranks and banked on other players to do the star turn. The second half was a different story to a goalless first.

Jayesh Amuthan had Veniza’s best chance of the game as he shot straight at the goalkeeper. Nickel D’Souza hit wide from the right as Juhu poured men forward for the breakthrough goal. Prathamesh Kamble got the all-important goal for Juhu in the 56th minute and they broke past the Veniza citadel.

Andre Fernandes put in a workman-like effort for Veniza and Joiwin Vasaikar was superb at the back for Juhu.

Jimmy Abraham put in a rock-solid performance at center-back for Veniza. Mahesh Kotkar’s 86th-minute goal ensured that Juhu was going home with the three points.

Kamble scored his second in the 93rd minute and ensured a 3-0 win for Juhu.

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Nickinson Misquitta scored the winner for Juhu in the 94th minute after a mix-up in the Wellington defence.

Wellington had led through Rishar Kotian’s goal in the 11th minute and had matched Juhu in every department.

Juhu’s golden boy Tyson Pereira sped through the right flank and hit home the equalizer in the 13th minute!

Pereira’s intelligent passing and excellent switching between flanks gave Wellington ample problems.

Ajinkya Birajdar’s superb defending didn’t allow Wellington to bounce back into the game.

Wellington did have their positives as Diptiman Prusty and Innocent Fernandes put in a workhorse performance.

Juhu’s high-pressing game cut off space for Wellington who never really looked in the game after Pereira’s goal. The first half finished at 1-1 with Juhu having the lions share of possession.

Wellington showed more energy and enthusiasm in the second half as they went in search of a winner.

Nikhil Thavervittel expertly marshaled the right-flank to cut out Wellington’s supply.

Pereira had his Okocha moment as he beat a defender with a cheeky rainbow at the corner flag!

He was Juhu’s best player of the game as he probed Wellington with defence-splitting passes.

Wellington was content at not conceding!

They did have two good chances only for Fernandes and Kaustubh Panchal to be denied by some good defending.

Juhu built on the pressure with every passing minute; Mahesh Kotkar, Pereira and Rawat tested the Wellington goalkeeper with a series of rasping shots.

A horrible mix-up in the Wellington back-line allowed Nickinson Misquitta to slot home the winner in the 94th minute!

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Though Macdon Pillai’s red card in the second half was the bone of contention still the game was never short on entertainment value.

Tyson Pereira dribbled past a couple of players on the left before opening the scoring for Juhu in the 22nd minute.

They upped the ante as Sachin Rawat latched on to Nicket D’Souza’s hopeful punt as the former doubled the lead in the 32nd minute.

Though Gaurav More and Aniket Kumar impressed for Skorost with their work-rate still Juhu walked away as the happier team at the end of the first-half.

Three minutes into the second half and as Rollen Fernandes’ pinpoint cross found out Nickinson Misquitta…Juhu had scored again!

Skorost replaced More with Abhay Amin as the latter scored midway in the second half to reduce the deficit.

Despite being a man down (in the 78th minute) Skorost bagged a second as Amin scored after outpacing the opposition defenders.

Though Skorost eventually lost still one wonders as to whether they could have at least drawn the game with 11 players on the field!

The infuriated Skorost coach and a few fans pointed out that the referee didn’t consult with the fourth official before giving Pillai the marching orders.

They also spoke about improving ‘refereeing standards’ in the league.

Also, Alan Johnson (26), a Skorost fan, pitched in for the need for video assistance and analysis.

In contrast, the referee (who requested anonymity) maintained that the red card was perfectly legit.

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Juhu Sparks and Salcette SC faced off in a gruelling encounter as both teams played an entertaining end to end affair. Juhu were positive from the kickoff whistle and looked confident on the ball not allowing Salcette any time on the ball. And they very nearly scored when a well timed cross down the right bounced kindly for their striker who brought it down well only to hit it straight at the keeper. The keeper was very fortunate that the ball stuck to his hands not allowing Juhu to put in the rebound. From then on the game became a roller coaster ride as Salcette created chances of their own to go in front. A header from the corner failed to remain on target and a cross from the right was fired over the crossbar.

Juhu Sparks came very close from a set piece of their own when the ball from a corner was curled in right in the six yard box only to head it wide. That was close. Salcette looked like they would take the lead when their striker was through on goal only for the Juhu centre back to make a last ditch challenge which was a certain foul and a sending off. But he escaped with a yellow as Salcette could only manage to curl the freekick wide of the post. Both teams headed with deadlocked at 0-0

The second half promised to be a nerve wrecking half only for both teams to reach the box or the six yard area and waste golden opportunities. Juhu Sparks did brilliantly to put pressure on the keeper as they failed to convert the chance when the Salcette keeper had slipped off  in an attempt to get back .

Salcette stayed back and countered a few attacks as they looked to score that all important goal which would turn out to be the winner. But a one-two between two Salcette players was cleared from inside the box by Juhu defense. At fulltime both teams shared a point as they failed to convert the chances azt their disposal. The finishing component went missing in today’s game as one clear cut finish would have sealed the game.

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