Mahindra colts gallop into MFL Super Play-offs

 

What started off with a whimper in a rather uneventful first forty minutes, picked up pace after the break and ended in a flurry of goals.

 

Surprisingly enough, it was the bottom-placed Bombay Muslims who drew first blood in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Midfielder Sachin Kumar’s low strike from the edge of the area zipped past the Mahindra keeper and into the bottom corner at the far post. Goal! 1-0 to the boys from Madanpura.

 

Despite all of their slick passing and tireless off-the-ball running, United were unable to create any real inroads in the entire first half. 

 

On to the second half and Coach Santosh Kashyap brought on Royston D’souza in the heart of midfield and the creative medio went to work immediately with a string of defensive-splitting through balls in the opening minutes. 

 

The youngsters restored parity in the 57th minute when a quick turn of pace saw Deepak Invati brought down inside the box and referee Bhatena immediately pointed to the spot. Royston took the ensuing penalty and sent the keeper the wrong way with an expert finish. Goal! 1-1.

 

The go-ahead goal came in the 64th minute when Deepak found himself unmarked at the edge of the area and took his time to round off the charging keeper before slotting home into an empty net. Goal! 2-1. Mahindra in front!

 

The United colts opened up a sizeable lead in the 74th minute courtesy of yet another classy finish by Royston, bundling the ball into the back of the net inside a crowded penalty area. Goal! 3-1.

 

After watching all of their hard work come undone, Bombay Muslims pulled themselves back into the game with a spectacular effort barely three minutes later. As a long cross drifted across the penalty area, striker Sajid Sabir unleashed a spectacular volley that left the keeper with no chance as it smashed into the roof of the net. Goal! 3-2. Game on.

 

The goal set the tone for a tense final fifteen minutes to the game as both teams worked overtime in an effort to find the net. In the end, the United youngsters superior fitness levels paid dividends as they pulled back to protect their slender lead.

 

As the referee signaled for an end to the game, Mahindra’s three points ensured their progress to the MFL Super Division Play-offs. 

After losing out to Mumbai FC u-19 in the final fixture of the 2008-09 season, the colts will be looking to go one better this time around when they kick-off their playoff campaign against the best in the division in the coming weeks.