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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