The final round of games before the long winter break threw up some interesting results as teams looked to end the year on a high. Al-Fateh remained on top after rolling over a poor Brunton side and are favorites to lift the title come the end of the season. Sparta picked up a crucial, narrow 1-0 win over Grasshoppers FC with the Athlos- Titans and Joras-Netbusters games ending in stalemates. Bengal made a giant leap towards promotion with a hard-fought win over a Diablos side that are on a downward slide. Finally, the bottom of the table clash swung FC Lawless’ way when they comfortably beat FC Kudlu.
Al-Fateh 7-0 FC Brunton
Brunton’s worst nightmare came true against Al-Fateh in the first game of the day, when they were handed a heavy 7-0 defeat. This was always going to be a question of how many goals Brunton can restrict Al-Fateh to, but this turned out to be a mauling at best. The pace and directness of the Al-Fateh attack was too much for Brunton to handle and they ultimately succumbed, rather meekly to their opposition. The unavailability of some of their key players might have played a part in the defeat too. For Al-Fateh, this was a stroll in the park as they hardly broke a sweat while taking their opponents to the cleaners. Captain Zaib was the star this time, helping himself to four goals on the day. Al-Fateh sit pretty at the top and other results have helped them pull away from the rest of the pack. Brunton, meanwhile drop down to 9th with a lot of catching up to do.
Scorers:
Zaib Sherief 3’,34’,43’,52’; Stalin D 14’; Adil Ahmed 18’; Syed Sharoo 54’ (Al-Fateh)
Grasshoppers FC 0-1 FC Sparta Bengaluru
The game between Grasshoppers and FC Sparta was up next in a mid-table clash. As expected, this was a tight game with chances few and far between. Grasshoppers had also bolstered their squad with a couple of new signings in a hope to revive their fortunes. But the new signings failed to inspire their team and a watertight Sparta defence rose up to the challenge, shutting out the opposition attack. Sparta also looked like the team with the better threat going forward and were duly rewarded when Benjamin scored just before the stroke of half-time. The second half was a little different with Grasshoppers trying to get back into the game. Binu, the Sparta goalkeeper had to keep out an array of shots although he rarely looked in trouble. The game finished with a 1-0 scoreline, condemning Grasshoppers to their fourth defeat of the season. This is Sparta’s third win and they have now built a strong foundation to finish mid-table.
Scorers:
Benjamin George 27’ (FC Sparta Bengaluru)
Athlos United 0-0 Titans FC
What was billed to be one of the games of the day turned out to be a damp squib as both teams played out a dull, scoreless draw. The two sides probably set up not to lose this game and it was evident, as the attackers found it difficult to muster anything worth a mention. The only moment of controversy came when Jacob Zachariah seemed to have stopped the ball deliberately with his hands to deny a goal-scoring opportunity and subsequently let off only with a caution. Had he been expelled, things might have turned out differently. By and large, this was a game that the respective defences reigned supreme in with almost nothing created going forward. At the final whistle, the points were shared- a fair result given the defensive solidity of both sides, but Athlos is the team that could have used the additional two points to get back into the top three. Titans remain a point above them and hold on to the last promotion spot while Athlos head into the break in fourth position.
Joras 1-1 Netbusters FC
Joras played Netbusters in the fourth game of the day. Joras came into this game with some degree of confidence considering their excellent win over FC Brunton the previous week. Netbusters, on the other hand, drew their last game and were one of the only teams yet to pick up all three points in a game. This trend continued as we had another stalemate. Joras were the more threatening side from the offset and took the lead in the 20th minute. But, their failure to build on the lead and seal this game cost them dearly when Karthik Raj scored in the 43rd. The remainder of the second half was pretty intense with both the midfields cancelling each other out, leading to a dearth of chances, although some of the play was a treat to watch. This will be two points lost for Joras, who could have fired themselves up to 7th place with a win. Netbusters remain rock bottom and have the unenviable record of being the only team across both divisions yet to register a win after eight rounds of matches.
Scorers:
Nithin KT 20’ (Joras)
Karthik Raj 43’ (Netbusters FC)
Diablos FC 2-3 FC Bengal
The post lunch session was kicked off by the blockbuster game of the day between Diablos FC and FC Bengal. After the other big game of the day- Titans v Athlos, failed to live up to expectations, hopes were pinned on this game to provide the headlines. This game did not disappointment as we were treated to feisty 5-goal thriller. Diablos looked bright from the start with Raghav Khurana being the standout player. He even had a great chance to put his team ahead as early as the 2nd minute but could not quite convert it. On the very next play though, FC Bengal went ahead through none other than Saheed Adeoye, with Taofeek setting him up well. But Diablos responded right away with some good play and were rewarded with a 20th minute goal which Aakash Bajaj slotted home. Just when it was looking like we would head into the break with 1-1 scoreline, a poor clearance from the Diablos defence ended up with Saheed, who raced into the box to score his second goal while the defence was left stranded. After the resumption of play, this see-saw game took yet another turn as Raghav’s good work bore fruit through a 39th minute goal. The tension was palpable as tempers flared leading to a few bookings. Bengal though re-took the lead when Taofeek put them ahead with a 47th minute goal drawing the now trademark celebrations from the Bengal team. The game ended with that scoreline, lifting Bengal upto 2nd place while Diablos dropped to 5th.
Scorers:
Aakash Bajaj 20’; Raghav Khurana 39’ (Diablos FC)
Saheed Adeoye 3’, 29’; Askia Ismyhil Taofeek 47’ (FC Bengal)
FC Kudlu 1-3 FC Lawless
The last game of the day was between FC Kudlu and FC Lawless. This was billed to be a tight game between two sides struggling for consistency and form but turned out to be anything but that. FC Lawless looked in imperious form, and their previous game against Al-Fateh when they were routed 9-1 seemed like a distant past. FC Lawless took control right from the beginning, but it took a long range screamer from Mayank Yadav to break the deadlock in the 18th minute. Both Aditya Chandra and Nakul Ganapathy were having a field day on the pitch and they combined in the 25th minute to provide the second goal putting Lawless in a comfortable position heading into half-time. Aditya was in the thick of action yet again as he turned provider this time, teeing up Jacob Alexander who latched on to a through ball and fired in the third goal for his team in the 51st minute. Against the run of play of though, Victor pulled one goal back for Kudlu five minutes from time, a mere consolation. Lawless now climb off the bottom to 11th place while Kudlu remain in 10th position.
Scorers:
Victor Ihonde 55’ (FC Kudlu)
Mayank Yadav 18’, Aditya Chandra 25’, Jacob Alexander 51’ (FC Lawless)
Standings (After Gameweek 7)
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