The event is organized by RCF Colony Boys Krida & Sanskrutik Mandal.
After the recently concluded RCF Nadkarni Cup, there is a lot of excitement about the Premier Cup.

We take a look at few things which make the upcoming RCF Premier Cup, an event to look forward to

1. Knockout Nights

There is something about knockout football and floodlights. Be it the UEFA Champions League or the RCF Premier Cup, there is something magical about football under the lights especially with the drama and anxiety of knockout football. With the winter having well and truly taken its guard, there will be added spice to these nights at the RCF Sports Complex

2. Outstation Challenge

The tournament has grown beyond its geographical proximity. The teams from the Elite Division will face a challenge from outstation teams like P.T.M Kolhapur, Bhilai Brothers, Dilbahar (Kolhapur). What can we expect from the trio of visiting teams? Will they have a surprise in store for the locals? Will they bring with them, a set of visiting support? Lot of questions will be answered come Sunday.

3. Hospitable Hosts

RCF Sports Complex plays host to another big football tournament in the space of fifteen days. After the great success of the Nadkarni Cup, RCF get another chance to charm their guests and dish out delightful four days of footballing experience. If the organization and hospitality is anything like the Nadkarni Cup, we are in for a treat of football.

4. Handsome Rewards

RCF Premier Cup brings with it handsome rewards. Apart from the big one, RCF Premier Cup has a lot of individual awards to encourage players and reward their good work. The Player of the Tournament is a pick of the prizes to be given out, as the winner will own a brand new motorbike.

5. Backing of Top Indian Sportsmen

Dhanraj Pillai, the ex-Indian hokey player is the brand ambassador and the main inspiration behind the RCF Premier Cup tournament. Along with him, Leander Paes also has great things to say about the tournament and how it helps in nurturing football. So there is a good chance that these celebrity sportsmen might turn up for the event, adding that extra sheen to it.

Hosts Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Sports Club (RCF SC) play Great Mother Sports Club in the opening game at 3 pm on Thursday, 18th December 2014.

Rcf Premier Cup Fixtures

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Air India buoyed by their crushing of Mumbai Customs in the semi-finals started brightly as they almost scored in the 9th minute when T. Jonychand Singh’s shot went inches wide of the left hand side post. Two minutes later Karan Atwal of ONGC saw the first yellow of the game after he tackled rashtly trying to stop Air India’s growing momentum.

But Air India were almost shocked at the other end two minutes later when their goalkeeper Vian Joseph collected bravely after a confusion in the Air India defence which almost led to the ONGC attacker pouncing.

Air India were making ONGC work very hard to get the ball off them with their slick passing and movement as they created problems for the ONGC backline. Ubaid C.K, the ONGC keeper was called into action in the 30th minute when he did well to keep out T. Jonychand’s effort. Four minutes later, the ONGC defence is tested again, this time by Nikhil Poojary who delivers an awkward cross into the ONGC penalty area, but the ONGC rearguard manage to deal with it.

Air India’s Onkar Singh saw his shot deflected over the crossbar for a corner in the 38th minute. From the resultant corner, Air India get a header on target from point blank range but it is unlawfully saved off the line by F. Lalmuan Puia who clearly uses his hands to prevent the ball from going into the net.

The referee correctly pointed to the spot and rightly sent the ONGC No.18 off for deliberate handling of the ball. This presented a great opportunity for Air India to set up an uphill task for ONGC, but Vijith Shetty’s spot kick was brilliantly saved by Ubaid C.K who bailed his team out of a tight corner.

Such a relief for ONGC, but they still had a huge amount of work to do after being down to ten men. Air India continued to dominate as the referee blew for half time.
Air India had a very good first half, dominating proceedings and reducing the opponent to ten men. But they would be disappointed not to go into the interval with a goal in front. ONGC on the other hand had their work cut out and needed lift both their spirits and performance if they were to have any chance of winning the contest.
ONGC came into the second half with a game plan and it seemed to be working as they managed to stem the flow of attacks and stifle the opponent. ONGC were working very hard off the ball as they managed to break anything which Air India created.

ONGC had a threat upfront in Enock Annan who was targeted by ONGC who were looking to play long at every opportunity. Their efforts were rewarded with a rare corner for them in the 64th minute but they failed to convert. Air India had lost their first half swagger as they never seemed to recover from that penalty miss in the first half.

Vivek Kaira of ONGC put the ball in the back of the net in the 67th minute but it was adjudged offside. Air India almost conjured up a perfect opening two minutes later when T. Jonychand Singh failed to control a cross from the right flank.

As the game approached its closing stages, ONGC sat further deep in their half reducing Air India to very few chances in the second half. But they had five more minutes to hang on to as the fourth official’s board signaled so.

It was ONGC though who won a corner in the first minute of stoppage time, but nothing came of it. It was all Air India for the remainder of the game as they peppered the ONGC goal with shots, crosses and lobs but the ONGC keeper Ubaid C.K dealt with everything that was thrown at him, including a last minute header which he saved brilliantly diving down to his right.

That was the last action of the game as the 108th Nadkarni Cup was to be decided from the penalty spot. It was a great effort from ONGC in the second half to bring Air India to penalties where their numerical advantage was nullified.
ONGC went first in the shootout as Karan Atwal stepped up and converted. It was a close call as the keeper got his hand to the ball but it had way too much power as it sailed into the right hand side top corner. Air India were level again as Vijith Shetty made up for his missed penalty as he send the keeper in the opposite direction to score.

Next up was Vivek Kaira of ONGC, who shot off target to as the scores remained level. Air India took the lead as Raynier Fernandes converted after he sent the ONGC keeper the wrong way. Air India led 2-1 with three kicks each left.

Bhola Prasad stepped up for ONGC and scored, as he fired in the top right corner. Vian Joseph had no chance despite going the right way. Next to take the kick for Air India was Onkar Singh who converted but was fortunate as it somehow escaped the grasp of Ubaid C.K who had guessed correctly.
Nitesh Monde leveled the shootout at 3-3 after a brilliantly taken penalty into the roof of the net, left the keeper with no chance. Next for Air India was substitute Praveen Sharma whose spot kick was nicely saved by Ubaid h.K, but his joy was short lived as referee disallowed the save as he felt the ONGC keeper was way too ahead of the line. The penalty was retaken but Praveen Sharma failed to convert again as he shot his spot kick wide.

ONGC were back in front as Enock Annan dispatched his penalty in the bottom right corner. There was huge pressure on up stepping Air India No.2 Ashkar C.V who coolly converted to bring us to sudden death.

After a week of breathtaking footballing drama, it was down to who blinked first between the finest of the lot, who surpassed all hurdles for that moment of glory and on the cusp of which all the margins for error had vanished leaving the duo, in front of them one final hurdle.

Up stepped substitute Naresh Aula for ONGC, who did his job and converted to put ONGC on the brink yet again. Pravin Jadhav had the responsibility to keep his side in the contest as he stepped up only to hit the left hand side post and send the ONGC camp into delirium.
The marathon had finally ended and although depleted, ONGC were crowned champions at the end of a dramatic afternoon at the RCF Sports Club.

ONGC lifted the prestigious Nadkarni Cup trophy for the first time in their history and were rewarded with cash prize of rupees One Lakh. ONGC showed their mettle at various stages in the tournament and thoroughly deserved to win the tournament brilliantly hosted by RCF and even more fantastically looked after by the referees and match commissioners Mr. S.S. Shetty and Mr. Sengupta.

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It took ONGC ten minutes to get a grip on the game as they started to push Companerose back in their own half and dictated most of the play. ONGC came close to opening the scoring the ONGC center back headed just over from a corner in the 17th minute.

Despite the ONGC dominance, it was Companerose who created the best opening when forward Nikhil Pal tackled an ONGC defender to win the ball in an encouraging position for Companerose, but the forward took too much time to shoot and ONGC defenders were able to get the ball back off him.

The game developed a set pattern as Companerose sat back absorbing all the pressure as ONGC controlled most of the ball possession. Companerose were extremely compact and at times had two lines of defences protecting their goal.

Companerose held their shape very well as ONGC rarely threatened Ankit Sawant’s goal as the referee Tapan Ghosh blew for half time.
Eight minutes into the second half, winger Nitesh Monde drew an error from the full back and crossed from the left flank, but it was neatly intercepted by Companerose’s Vikas Narkar.

ONGC started to pile on the pressure as they won a series of corners around the hour mark, but the mean Companerose defence dealt with the danger. ONGC brought on striker Enock Annan as they searched for the breakthrough. He almost made the difference in the 75th minute when he made space for a shot but fired it straight to the keeper.

A rare opportunity fell the Companerose’s way eleven minutes from time when substitute Arun Patil latches on to a clearance and plays in Fazil Sheikh who shoots just over. A warning sign for ONGC, who had thrown a lot of men forward in search of a winner and were almost found wanting at the back.

Companerose suffered a blow in the 87th minute as their rock solid center half Pratik Patil suffered an ankle injury. He had a fantastic game before the injury and it would have been a huge blow for Companerose to play out the remaining minutes without him. But he recovered and decided to continue.

With the game approaching stoppage time and the penalty shootout around the corner, Companerose made a change in goal as Wren D’Abreo replaced the impressive Ankit Sawant.

Penalties were indeed needed after the referee blew for full time and Companerose had done brilliantly to take the mighty ONGC to penalties.
After a short break, it was time for the nerve wracking spot kicks as it was Companerose who were shooting first. It was the skipper Nixon Rodrigues who stepped up, but his kick was brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper who dived to his right to pull off a great save.

Bitola Prasad was next for ONGC who scored in the bottom left corner to put ONGC in front. The pressure was immense on substitute goalkeeper Wren D’Abreo  who was going to take the second kick for Companerose. He failed to ease the pressure as he blazed his spot kick wide to leave Companerose with an uphill task. Next up was Vivek Kaira for ONGC. His shot in the center of the goal was brilliantly saved by Wren D’Abreo who put out a strong hand to stop the shot, as he instantly redeemed himself and also gave his side a lifeline.

Arun Patil stepped up for Companerose as drew them level as his shot in the bottom left corner had no stopping. But No. 28 Askar put ONGC in front again after a pin point spot kick left Wren D’souza unmoved. Mudassir Ansari leveled it up again for Companerose as he managed to beat the keeper who had dived in the right direction.

Nitesh Monde stepped up for ONGC and converted emphatically as his shot found the top left corner. Umair Sheikh who was the last of the five penalty takers had to score to keep the game alive and he did just that as he sends his kick to the top right corner.

This left ONGC an Enock Annan spot kick away from the semis, as he stepped up and scored an almost perfect penalty which went in of the right post and send ONGC into the semi-finals of the Nadkarni Cup.

It was more of relief than joy for ONGC who avoided an upset at the hands of Companerose who did themselves proud after more than matching ONGC for the ninety minutes.

ONGC play hosts RCF in the first semi-final on 3rd December.

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RCF were enjoying home advantage as they got quite a lot of support from their fans gathered at RCF Sports Club. But on the field, it was an even battle with few chances for either side in the first quarter of the game as no side was able to get a clear spell of dominance.

But the deadlock was broken in the 29th minute when Linekar Machado fired Western Railways into the lead much to the displeasure of the gathered home support. The goal seemed to wake RCF up as there was a distinct urgency in their game after going behind.

RCF got stronger as the half time whistle approached, putting pressure on the Western Railways backline drawing a series of corners. Western Railways defence finally gave way in third minute of first half stoppage time when Ubaid Ansari’s brilliant through ball found Raju Meetei who showed great composure to beat the goalkeeper and finish to level the scores.

That was the last action of the first half and the scoreline was a fair reflection of the half.

Second half started with Western Railways on the front foot when Somi P.T played in Anil Pawar whose shot needed intervention and it came from the RCF defender. Six minutes later RCF keeper Narendra was forced into action by Anil Pawar through a well taken free kick which threatened to go in at the far post looping over the keeper’s head.

As RCF got through the initial hick ups, the game entered a lean period wherein neither side looked like scoring and hardly threatened as the tournament’s first penalty shoot out was looking likely.

RCF made their first substitution as they brought on Maimilungboy who replaced Ashish Pawaskar in the 77th minute, and the substitute made an instant impact who broke free of the Western Railways defence only to shoot wide. Great work by the youngster to create the opening, but it should have been put away as the way the game was going, there weren’t going to be a lot of chances to grab the winner.

A minute later Anil Pawar does well again to earn a free kick for the Western Railways, but he shot over. Four minutes later RCF’s Raju Meetei brilliantly controlled a long ball, cut in and force a top save from the Western Railways keeper. Good play from the RCF scorer.

Maimilungboy’s arrival had blown much needed energy into hosts RCF as they were seeing more of the ball and threatening a lot more than before. Striker Raju Meetei came close a minute from time when his long range effort went wide of the goal.

But in the dying seconds of regulation time at the end of the second half, Ubaid Anasari’s cracking half volley flew past Nisarullah Khan to send the home fans into delirium. It was an emphatic display of technique from RCF’s No. 20 as his goal was worthy of winning any game and could easily be the goal of the tournament so far.

RCF held on for the remaining two stoppage time minutes as they got through to the semi-finals of the 108th Nadkarni Cup. RCF edged what was a tight game but their superior finishing got them over the line.

RCF will face winners of Companerose and ONGC in the semi final on 3rd December.

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After the final whistle, both the teams had 1 goal on the board, Air India with the help of Pravin Sharma netted on Indian navvy’s goalkeeper mistake got the lead. Later Pawandeep singh in the 60th minute gets an equalizer with a brilliant move from the corner kick taken by Raman Rai, found Pawandeep Singh in front of the Air India goalkeeper and he back flicked the ball where the Air India keeper Ubaid C.K. stood rooted and the ball entered in the goal.

Tomorrow’s Second Semi-finals Match: ( 25th October’2013)
ONGC  v/s  MUMBAI TIGERS
Match timing: 3.30 pm ( 15:30 hrs ) at RCF Ground, Chembur,Mumbai – 74.

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A bad day for the entire PIFA Colaba crew or would say a well organized display of football play by ONGC to get a comfortable 6 goal win over PIFA Colabba.  The damage done in the very beginning of the game, in the very 3rd minute Kailash Patil has made scoreboard volunteer busy. And so on, one after one it got incremented.

Liviano F. in the 11th minute, Parwinder Singh netted the 3rd , 4^th goal by Henry in the 56th minute and the 5th goal in the 61st minute was a beauty by the Kailash Patil who chested beautifully and placed it to the right of the goalkeeper who had no chance, and the 6th goal was scored by Lalalmuah Puia in the dying minutes of the match

Tomorrow’s Ist Semi – Final match: AIR INDIA  v/s INDIAN NAVY.
Match timing: 3.30 pm ( 15:30 hrs )  ( 24th October’ 2013. )

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