Aryaman Sapre ran the show in midfield for West Zone and was a bundle of energy!

West Zone almost had a goal in the 25th minute when Sanket Goswami failed to connect to Sapre’s cross from the right. It was right inside the box and could’ve been a goal!

West Zone had the majority of possession in the first half with Sapre having had a couple of chances from long range.

The first half finished goalless with  West Zone unlucky not to have scored despite having a clutch of chances.

Come the second half and Krishna Patil hit a blaster from outside the box in the 47th minute which whizzed past the left post!

As West Zone piled on the pressure!…ICL ‘A’ was hanging on by the skin of their teeth!

They didn’t have much of the ball and struggled to make an impact throughout the game.

Karan Khanna eventually broke the deadlock for West Zone in the 55th minute with a superb goal. The floodgates had opened!

Advait Garde later made it 2-0 with an exquisite chip over the on rushing goalkeeper and ensured that West Zone was going home with the three points.

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The youngsters passed West Zone out of the park!

A football version of the Harlem Globetrotters?

West Zone played catch up and was clueless as to how to dispossess the opposition! Reliance Youth’s build-up play was top-notch and it brought back memories of Spain and Barcelona’s famous possession-based game.

Arata Akikko was the rock in Reliance Youth’s defence. Ayush Chikkara scored in the 17th and 41st minutes respectively to put the game beyond West Zone’s reach.

Varad Ayare’s missed attempt was one of few chances for West Zone in the first half. Nemil Valliyatil and Mustaque Laskar scored in the 50th and 55th minutes respectively to make it 4-1.

Valliyatil curled in a beauty from outside the box! Ayare bagged a consolation goal for West Zone in the 70th minute. Reliance’s 4-1 win was an education in possession and passing.

Also Read: Robin Singh ends goal drought as Pune-ATK encounter end in 2-2 draw

Also Read: Chennaiyin expose chinks in Bengaluru’s armour

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He pulled off two successive 360s in his own box and beat off three Kenkre forwards! A pity he conceded a penalty after losing possession! Om Keni missed the subsequent spot-kick as he hit the ball wide to the right.

West Zone created ample opportunities in the first half as the game began on a physical note. Keval Savla missed a gilt-edged chance for Kenkre U-19. A goal would have given them the much-needed momentum!

Sanket Goswami, Nitesh Singh, and Suraj Sonawane came close to breaking the deadlock. Kenkre U-19 were in a fix! Sonwane scored the first goal off a sweeping move in the 45th minute. It compensated for Aryaman Sapre’s miss from inside the box. The score was 1-0 to West Zone at half time.

West Zone pushed men forward in the second half as Goswami had a strong penalty appeal turned down. And as Aman Singh’s shot whizzed inches wide off the post…Kenkre U-19 hung on!

Kenkre U-19 got an equalizer through Sanaathan Shirdhar in the 84th minute. Kakrtik Rao who put in the hard yards was the stand-out player for Kenkre U-19.

Also Read: Ansari tricks as Mumbai Port sink SBI

Also Read: Double trouble as Chheda Nagar win against Sunday Boys

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The highlight of D’Assisi’s victory was Vitesh Bhobe’s twin strikes in the 30^th and 43^rd minutes. Siddhant Pathak gave D’Assisi the perfect start by scoring the opening goal in the ninth minute of play.

D’Assisi dominated the whole first half and didn’t give West Zone United any space to create openings as the latter struggled to keep up with D’Assisi’s pace.

Vitesh Bhobe was excellent for the majority of the match as kept threatening West Zone United’s backline. Both of his goals proved why Vitesh is a lethal offensive player whose finishing is top-notch.

Thereafter, D’Assisi relaxed their pace and seemed satisfied with the margin of victory.

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Union Bank of India 5-0 West Zone United

A stellar display from Union Bank of India left West Zone United speechless after thumping the Super Division side 5-0 in their one sided clash at St. Xavier’s Ground, Parel.

A goal each by Rohel Shaikh, Leander Dharmai, Vinod Pandey, Mohammad Ishaq and Digvijay Yadav send the Elite Division side into the last eight, which will be played tomorrow.

HDFC 2-0 Century Rayon

Century Rayon suffered a shock defeat as they went down 2-0 against a clinical HDFC side. Jisto Fonseca and Leroy Almeida scored for HDFC which proved to be enough to prevail into the next round.

Century Rayon did played well, but they were not upto the mark in the attacking third which came back to haunt them later.

Air India 0-0 Dena Bank (Air India wins 4-2 on penalties) 

Air India, the giants of Mumbai Football had to go through penalty shootout in order to defeat a determined Dena Bank side.

At the end of the normal time, both the teams were goalless which took the match into penalties, and it was Air India who held their nerves to qualify for the quarter-finals stage.

It was Dena Bank’s goalkeepr Asif Ansari’s brilliant saves and reflexes which kept the score goalless, although Asif failed to emulate the same display in the penalty shootout.

Dena Bank missed two of their penalties, whereas Air India converted all the four penalties with Shravan Shetty scoring the deciding one.

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West Zone United faced G.M Police knowing a loss would prove to be a step back in their qualification from the group whereas G.M Police were looking to build from their 2-0 win over Fr Agnel.

It was all West Zone United who dominated the game from the word go. They opened the scoring in the 2nd minute when Faizan Shaikh tapped in the rebound taking the lead. A lovely cross down the left that was saved  by the keeper who could just palm it away into the path of Faizan.

G.M.Police looked sluggish as they struggled to keep possession. On the other hand West Zone United players got lots of spaces in the midfield and alot of time on the ball. The players could use up all the time to control the pass turn and start an attacking move of their own. One of which lead to a freekick in the 33rd minute. And it was number 8 Nitin Singh who doubled their lead when he lashed home a well time volley. The G.M.Police defense failed to clear the ball coming in of the freekick which was met by Nitin who had all the time and space to convert the volley. It was West Zone United who lead 2-0 at halftime.

The second half just like the first belonged to West Zone United who went all out attack as G.M.Police parked the bus. All of the attacks were cleared off the box. A total of  12 chances could have been converted but were only cleared off the box or through crosses as West Zone United could not get the third. The message from the G.M.Police coach was clear and they never looked like creating chances but only looked to prevent a humiliating scoreline

At fulltime West Zone United registered a comfortable win. It was a possession, progression, penetration strategy which materialised for them. G.M.Police will look to assess their performance as they look to bounce back from this loss.

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