MFL Senior Division Play-offs     Intelenet v Greater Mumbai Police   Match Report by Shailesh Karkera Intelenet’s Roosevelt Mathias orchestrated an amazing turnaround in the penultimate game of the MFL Senior Division season, helping his side register a 2-1 win over favourites GM Police at the St. Xavier’s ground at Parel. In a roller-coaster ninety minutes, the policemen came within whiskers of being crowned champions until a late surge saw them succumb to their first - and only - defeat of the season and hand the title to Kenkre FC U-19, who overcame F-United earlier in the day. GM on the offensive Needing all three points from the game to win the title, GM wasted no time in making their intentions clear with an opportunity in the opening minute of the game. Anil Amolik found space inside the penalty area but his resultant shot went marginally wide of the near post. Intelenet barely had any time to regroup when the policemen launched another impressive attack five minutes later. A string of passes saw the ball land at the feet of midfielder Firoz Shaikh, whose curling effort from outside the box went just wide of its intended target – the far post top corner. The men in blue steadily found their feet and started working their way into the attacking third. Striker Sheldon Benny took on the entire GM defence with a gritty twenty yard solo run, played a neat one-two at the edge of the box with team-mate Jayesh Nayak and found the net off the resultant shot with what seemed to be a goal against the run of play. His joy was short lived as the linesman flagged for offside, much to the amusement of the GM fans in the packed stands. The opener Still recovering from the psychological effects of the disallowed goal, Intelenet’s fortunes took another dip when the policemen found the net at the half hour mark. A great pass at the edge of the box rolled into the path of an unmarked Naseem Shaikh, who, with time and space at his disposal rifled a low drive into the bottom corner of the net. Goal! 1-0 to GM. Kiran Mohite, GM’s playmaker, was having an exceptional game with his timely runs inside the box and accurate passing. The margin for the policemen would have been greater at the end of the first half if not for the contribution of another player –this time from the opposition - Intelenet’s seasoned central defender Mario Caldeira ,who was having an equally impressive game with his excellent reading of the plays and remarkable composure. Crucial Miss Early in the second half, GM Police worked their way into an opportunity which would have sealed the outcome of the game for good. Kiran Mohite shrugged off his marker on the left flank and drifted an inch-perfect cross into the penalty area. Misjudgement by the Intelenet keeper meant that the ball fell at the feet of charging GM striker Shailesh Suryavanshi. With the keeper off his line and the goal at his mercy, he completely mis-kicked, his scuffed attempt going well wide of the unguarded net. The event marked a major turning point in the game as it provided a new lease of life for Intelenet who began pushing forward for an equaliser. Two minutes later GM keeper Sangram Patil was put to the test with two cracking shots from inside the box, managing to get a glove on both efforts at full stretch. Continued on page 2