A fantastic hat-trick by Dinesh Singh helped FC Pune City to defeat IRSC 3-0 in what was a scintillating performance by the away side. FC Pune City had lost their previous game against MSSA – Mumbai School Sports Association, but they responded pretty well earlier today to complete a resounding victory.

Right from the 1st minute, FC Pune City was the dominant side. Their hunger for scoring goals was clearly visible as they never sat back once in the whole match. After failing to capitalize half-chances, striker Dinesh Singh scored two quick goals in space of four minutes to give the Pune outfit a deserving 2-0 lead at the break.

They continued from where they had left as the trio of Dinesh, Vian Murgod, and Akib Ansari combined brilliantly to bother IRSC’s backline. Dinesh completed his hat-trick in the 47th minute with a fine strike to increase Pune’s lead by three goals.

Vian and Akib came agonizingly close in the last stages of the match but IRSC’s goalkeeper Kyros Chaves made some terrific saves to deny Pune another goal. With this win, FC Pune City has moved to 3rd in the Maharashtra Zone table with six points in three games, whereas, India Rush Soccer Club is yet to open their account with a third straight defeat. 0

Other results: Reliance Foundation Young Champs 3-0 Kenkre FC (Alex Konthoujam 29′ & 38′ and Kshitij Singh 30′)

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MSSA met FC Mumbaikars in the first match of the day. FCM needed a win to keep their hopes alive, whereas, high-flying PIFA locked horns against Rush Soccer in the second and last match of the group stage campaign. FC Mumbaikars went on to defeat group leaders MSSA 2-1 to qualify as the best two teams from Group B, while PIFA and Rush played out a 1-1 draw in the other game.

FC Mumbaikars started brilliantly who kept the match tempo high in the first-half. After an end-to-end display by both the sides, FC Mumbaikars broke the deadlock in the 35th minute to take a crucial lead. Defender Smit Chandorkar brilliantly finished from the edge of the box as MSSA’s goalkeeper Piyush Gupta couldn’t do enough to keep Smit’s effort out.

In the second-half, FC Mumbaikar was hoping to kill the game with a second goal to ensure their place in the next round and they just did that in the 48th minute when Midfielder Yash Nikalje doubled FCM’s lead with a close-range goal. MSSA pulled a goal back in the 61st minute through substitute Arya Agicha but it rather proved as a consolation goal.

In the second match of the day, an energetic and spirited PIFA side played out a 1-1 draw against Steadfast FC who needed at least five goals to qualify for the next round. Nonetheless, the boys in blue produced a fantastic performance which kept Steadfast FC at bay.

After an impressive start, PIFA opened the scoring through Yash Kaushik’s sublime goal in the 31st minute. A superb build-up play from the back was perfectly executed by Yash’s clinical finish. Shawn Vanappa and Arush Tandon had an impressive match for PIFA, while Jordan Noronha and Reuel Fernandes stood as best players for Steadfast.

PIFA’s hard work suddenly came to a halt when Mohammad Jaffar Mansoori equalized for Steadfast in the 51st minute, crashing PIFA’s hope of qualifying into the next round. Both the sides stood firm and composed at the back to share spoils in a dramatic 1-1 draw.

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In the first match of the day, high-flying Mumbai Warriors side met Indian Football Academy (IFA) at Cooperage Stadium, whereas, group leaders Reliance Foundation Young Champs looked to finish their group campaign with another victory as they face an in-form Football School of India (FSI) side at Reliance Corporate Park.

Mumbai Warriors registered a whopping 8-1 victory against Indian Football Academy (IFA) to finish 3rd in Group A. A clinical performance from MW’s attack proved too good for IFA who conceded a total of 28 goals in three matches.

After an end-to-end start, the deadlock was broken by Harshwardhan Tyagi in the 25th minute when he beautifully placed his effort past IFA’s goalkeeper Ayush Mehta. The momentum shifted towards Mumbai Warriors as they went all-in to wrap up the game.

Out of the eight goals scored, seven of them were scored in the second-half. Samson Victor Gill doubled Mumbai Warriors lead before Harshwardhan and in-form Abeer Pandit scored two quick goals to increase MW’s lead by four goals within the first fifteen minutes of the second-half.

Abeer bagged his brace in the 56th minute before Harshwardhan completed his hat-trick. Indian Football Academy (IFA) did pull one back which was their first goal of the campaign through Dominic Karukuttikaran’s fantastic strike.

Sahil Shinde and Shwet Jain scored the seventh and eighth goal respectively to complete a memorable 8-1 victory.

In the other game at Reliance Corporate Park, Reliance Foundation Young Champs cemented their place at the top of Maharashtra Zone (Group A) with a 4-0 victory over FSI who finished as the runner-up of Group A with six points in three games.

Kshitij Singh’s brace was followed by Hawaibam Meitei and Alex Konthoujam’s goal in a fine 4-0 win over a strong FSI side.

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The first match of the day between MSSA and Mumbai Rush was an eventful encounter where MSSA registered a fine 2-0 victory at Cooperage Stadium to sit at the top of Group B (Maharashtra Zone). MSSA started brightly as they kept on creating numerous opportunities and just within fifteen minutes, a sublime goal by Duane D’Souza from close range open the scoring.

Vedant Pingle and Yashwant Naik had an impressive game for Rush but the duo couldn’t manage to break MSSA’s resolute defence. Rush’s Custodian Kyros Chaves made some key saves throughout the game to keep the match alive.

MSSA doubled their lead in the second-half when Karsten D’Souza curling corner somehow managed to sneak past Rush’s backline and their goalkeeper into the back of the net. After conceding their second goal, Rush did push forward to at least cut short the deficit but once again, MSSA’s backline stood firm and strong to register their second victory of the campaign.

In the second match of the day, PIFA and FC Mumbaikars had to share the spoils in a 0-0 draw at Cooperage. The draw earned both the outfits their first point of the qualifying campaign.

Right from the kick-off, PIFA was on front foot. Kausthub Meher, Parag Dhanur, and Shawan Vanappa had a superb game for the boys in blue. FC Mumbaikars somehow defended on their lives to earn a hard-fought point against an energetic and spirited PIFA side.

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Football School of India (FSI) played Mumbai Warriors, whereas, Reliance Foundation Young Champs faced Indian Football Academy (IFA) in the Maharashtra Zone Group A at Cooperage.

In the first match of the day, FSI scored in the dying minutes of the match to record a narrow 2-1 win over a high-flying Mumbai Warriors side who almost snatched a draw.

In-form Striker Aditya Gondhali opened the scoring for FSI in the 10th minute itself with a fantastic goal. His 5th goal in just two games. Mumbai Warriors responded superbly after going behind 1-0.

Just before the half an hour mark, Abeer Lalit Pandit levelled the score with a close-range goal after a wonderful build-up play. Samson Gill, Sahil Shinde and Pranay Kanekar had an impressive match for the Warriors.

For FSI, Adithyan Andhuparambi had a wonderful game. After failing to convert a couple of chances earlier, the attacking midfielder scored a 30-yard screamer in the last minutes of the match to snatch all three points for his side.

The second match of the day proved out to be a one-sided affair. Reliance Foundation Young Champs scored fourteen goals past IFA to go top of their group.

Right from the kick-off, RFYC went all-in to produce a sensational victory. Alex Konthoujam opened the scoring in the 4th minute, followed by Chirag Bhujel’s strike a minute later.

Chirag went on to bag a hat-trick (5′, 54′ and 58′) along was later joined by Sanan Mohammed’s hat-trick (24′, 40′ and 49′). Razibul Mistry also had a field day as he notched up a brace (16′ and 35′) in a clinical performance.

The other goalscorers were: Kshitij Kumar Singh (42′ and 45′), Supratim Das (67′), Rashid Cherukad (23′) and Hawaibam Surdas Meitei (31′). In their two games, RFYC has scored a total of 23 goals, conceding none in the process.

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In the first match of the day at Cooperage, MSSA played PIFA Sports where they comprehensively defeated their counterpart 5-0, courtesy of Karsten D’Souza and Pranit Vyas’ twin strikes. MSSA started on the front-foot and delivered a massive blow in the first six minutes itself.

Karsten D’Souza wreaked havoc after bagging two quick goals inside six minutes to give MSSA a dream start. Although PIFA Sports responded superbly after going behind. Kaustubh Meher and Shawn Vanappa combined well for the rest of the first-half but couldn’t manage to break MSSA’s strong and organized backline.

MSSA increased their lead on the stroke of half-time when Pranit scored a sublime goal which put his side in a comfortable three-goal lead. MSSA continued their fine first-half form in the second-half too when they notched up two more goals through Pranit and Duane D’Souza which wrapped up the game for the boys in Blue.

The second match of the day saw Steadfast registering a narrow 1-0 win over an energetic FC Mumbaikars side at Cooperage. The all-important goal came in the 28th minute when Jordon Noronha placed his effort past FC Mumbaikars’ custodian Nabh Angwalkar to score the only goal of the match.

Throughout the match, both the sides had their chances but the killer instinct in front of the goal was hugely missing. Nevertheless, considering the player’s age and experience, both the set of players performed brilliantly in a well-contested match at Cooperage.

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Football School of India (FSI) took on Indian Football Academy (IFA) in the Maharashtra Zone Group A. FSI produced a scintillating display to complete a sensational 6-0 win over a spirited IFA side.

FSI took control of the match proceeding right from the kick-off. It only took them 10 minutes to open the scoring when Aditya Gondhali scored a sublime goal after a brilliant build-up play all the way from the backline.

The combination between Aditya Gondhali, Om Surve and Neel did the trick for FSI. The incisive runs from Om and Neel proved out to be fatal for IFA’s backline.

Aditya Gondhali doubled the lead in the 26th minute after a fantastic right-footed finish from the edge of the box. Namesake Aditya Shah then increased FSI’s lead with the third goal in the 36th minute.

The second-half saw FSI continuing from where they had left. Gondhali completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with another sublime goal.

Atharva Bhurale also got on the scoresheet for FSI before Gondhali bagged his fourth and FSI’s final goal of the game with a close-range finish to complete a fine victory.

In the other game, Reliance Youth Foundation scored nine past Mumbai Warriors in their opening game

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