The Amateur League Delhi – TAL – GW 7 – The Weekend In Review

A total of 35 goals were scored this past Sunday at The Amateur League – Delhi! As Vahin went into overdrive, Mohit Rohatgi secured a hat-trick too! From red cards to team brawls it all happened over a span of just 6 games. While the leader board stabilizes, we look at match reports from GameWeek 7!

GAME 1 : Panthers FC V Mavericks FC

First game of the day and there were signs of a possible upset. Even though the Panthers had taken 6 attempts at scoring the team was missing well-coordinated plays. 21^st minute of the first half and Abhishek Bhattacharya got the mavericks their first goal off a FK from 25 yards out. The young GK from Panthers was deceived by the curve. Not taken aback by the early upset, Panthers FC looked to equalize.  In the 28^th minute, Sanjay gave a brilliant cross to the inform Ujjwal who made no mistake in putting it past the right of the keeper. Panthers’ woes didn’t seem to end and neither did Abhishek Bhattacharya’s free kicks, luckily Cruzer kept the second one out.

2^nd Half

Mavericks FC is, in general, a slower team than the Panthers. This was established even more so when Batla’s attempt to break a Panther’s run resulted in a penalty. In the absence of Sinver, Deepak Bisht took the penalty, straight at the Maverick’s GK shins.

And as if this 31^st-minute miss sparked something inside the Panthers, and Suvraj more so specifically. With Sanjay creating good chances in the middle, Suvraj’s beautiful touches took the Panthers up by 3-1. The first off an assist and the second with a solo run. As the Panthers rejoiced, may be not as vehemently as the Mavericks after their first goal, the Mavs hit back with a brilliant run. As Vastav went down the far left of the D, Digvijay got the final touch in past Panthers’ young GK Cruzer. With the scoreline reading 3-2 and the clock running down, Mavericks’ desperation to find an equalizer led to a blunder in clearance as Gagan headed one back in into his own goal in the 57^th minute with the scoring reading 4-2, Panthers had secured the game.

GAME 2 : Warriors FC V NightsWatch FC

In a very soft start to the game, Krish Arora’s gentle nudge to inform Mohit Rohatgi lead to a penalty and a yellow card. Even with GK Abhay Bhalla’s skills, nothing could have stopped NightsWatch from going up 1-0 as early as the 3^rd minute. Warriors’ worries didn’t end there. A brilliant run by Rishab and the selfless pass in the end to Karan Khajanchi Jr right outside to 6-yard box took NW up by 2-0.

With a match-defining score line already in place, Abhay Bhalla switched with Amlaan and moved up to central midfield. The Warriors needed playmakers, for players to guide to control center line to goal runs. Their best chance came in to form of a FK taken by Himanshu saved just under the crossbar.

2^nd half

The 2^nd half started with another soft goal. Even though Warriors’ captain Shivam was found ‘gasping’ for offense, a 33^rd-minute defensive lapse lead to an easy goal for Mohit Rohatgi with an assist from Karan Khajanchi Jr. Already 3-0 down, Warriors lapsed again in the 45^th minute as Karan assisted for the 3^rd time and Mohit Rohatgi had completed his hat trick. NightsWatch were now up 4-0.

Krish Arora was awarded the 2^nd yellow consequently, a red card for a handball inside the D. Rohatgi took the penalty but found the temporary keeper.

After going down to 10 men, and in a very against the run of play attempt, Harsh Sen  had found the back of the net. Warriors FC was still down 4-1 but Mohit Rohatgi wasn’t done. 54^th minute he scored again. With 4 goals to his name, MR7 had taken home the Man of the Match convincingly so, and NightsWatch FC had made a mid-table massacre with a final scoreline of 5 -1.

GAME 3 : The Vikings V En Fuegos FC

There was no letting up. En Fuegos and Vikings had gotten off to a feisty start. While the Vikings were looking better offensively, En Fuegos had got a new keeper in Abhishek. The feast started with a brilliant cross by Ayush and a header into the goal by Abhinav Patwal in the 9^th minute. Vikings didn’t stop and scored again in the 11^th minute as Varun Batra headed the ball, chipping it over the Fuegos’ goalkeeper. While the Vikings continued to push, the fire boys had their own plans and Max was at the forefront. 19^th minute he scored and bought the Fuegos back into the game.  What happened 20^th minute onwards was sheer drama. Viking’s GK Utsav was called for yellow for a diving tackle but the referee didn’t award a penalty. After the corner was taken the teams got into a tussle and Utsav was called for a 2^nd yellow resulting into a red. The half ended with Viking Down to 10 men but looking extremely spirited.

2^nd half

En Fuegos FC was looking a little shaken for no apparent reason. Aditya Khari, Vikings capitalized on the lapse of defense and scored off a brilliant run in the 33^rd minute. Surprisingly, both teams were pushing offensively and screamingly the Vikings were getting better of the Fuegos. Maxito’s 54^th minute shot on the target was Fuegos’ best chance to score. The playing field was levelled as Pranav came off in the 58^th minute and both teams were down to 10 men. The cards didn’t stop and max was given a yellow In stoppage time. Amidst a fair amount of bad blood between the teams, the game ended in favour of the Vikings, with the final score settled at 3-1.

GAME 4 : Chronic FC V Phoenix DFC

Phoenix DFC had come to a goal fest to which they were going to play no party. The proceedings were on point with Vahin starting the onslaught for Chronic FC. With goals in the 7^th and 8^th minute, he was definitely poised for a hat- trick. And he got there in style as he put a loose ball past the GK in the 25^th minute. Offensive supremacy had been established and this was evident with the number of shots on target. While PDFC only had 2 on target Chronic FC had over 10. The half ended with chronic up 3-0. Vahin had already scored a hat-trick and the Pink brigade was convincingly ahead in the game.

2^nd half

Phoenix DFC was not giving up. A perseverant bunch of youngster was standing up against the giants of the league. Chronic FC was not stopping, the chances created, the shots on target were not stopping. In a clearance blunder in the 55^th minute, Tahiliani stole the ball and assisted Vahin for his 4^th. Just as the dust settled 4^th goal. Vahin drew the GK out and headed over him for his 5^th in the 56^th minute. There is annihilation, and then this mockery, Vahin scored his 6^th in the 59^th minute off an assist from Tahiliani again. The game ended with Chronic FC hammering in six past Phoenix DFC and an even stronger position on the leader board.

GAME 5 : Flying Pundits FC V Guerrilla United FC

The fifth game of the day was played between two teams who have been struggling to post wins in these past few weeks. Guerrilla United looked all set with a full team ready for this match, even though their regular keeper Armaan Sood did not show up for the match. On the other side of the pitch, Flying Pundits FC was at full strength and ready to tear apart the Guerrilla defence. And they did just that.

Even though the teams were evenly matched in the first five minutes, with Kuany getting things going with his incisive passing, and Josquinn keeping the Flying Pundits defence on its toes with his pace and agility. The Pundits were not going to back down today, and in the 6^th minute, Yumbi, the captain fired a shot on goal that rebounded off the woodwork and Prayas Lenka made no error in sliding the ball past the keeper, giving an early lead to the Flying Pundits. They really did get off to a flying start! Soon after in the twelfth minute, Kuany was able to break away with an excellent run along the left flank of the pitch and passed the ball into the penalty area which was met again by Prayas who did well to get his foot on it which the keeper was unable to stop. It was 2-0 for the Flying Pundits with over fifteen minutes to go in just the first half. And their strikers stuck again, just after six minutes. Yumbi passed the ball to Akshath, who found himself in front of the goal and made sure that his shot beat the keeper to find the back of the net. 3-0 for the Pundits! Guerrilla United just didn’t know what to do to stop the attacks from forming, but the Flying Pundits were all over the place with their accurate passes and shots on goal. Bharat fired one such shot on target in the 21^st minute which hit the inside of the crossbar and into the goal. 4-0 for Flying Pundits and that’s what the score line read after the first half.

2^nd Half

The second half was pretty much the same story, even though Josquinn decided to switch his position to play in the defence, joining Siddhant Nag to stop the scoring. And initially, the switch did work, but not for long as Akshath managed to chip the ball over the keeper in the twelfth minute, which just went over the crossbar. But Akshath, who won the Man of the Match award showed us why, as he was able to get two goals past the keeper in a span of five minutes in the 49^th and 53^rd minutes and help them obtain an insurmountable lead of 6 goals. Even Kuany was able to get one goal as he beat the defenders with his pace and was able to beat the keeper with a well-placed ball into the back of the net. The game ended with the Flying Pundits on a seven-goal high and walking away with a well-earned three points.

GAME 6 : The Phoenix Project V In2Sports FC

The final match of the day was between The Phoenix Project and In2Sposrts FC. The Phoenix Project looked their usual confident self with Sanil in the attack and Avi Anand in the defence. On the other hand, In2Sports were ready with the boys looking for blood.

The game started with The Phoenix Project on the front foot as Sanil almost got a goal in the second minute with a chip over the head of the keeper which went just over the crossbar. Coupled with the effort of Gibran, who also chipped the ball over the keeper in the fifth minute to see it go over the crossbar yet again, really put the Phoenix Project in charge of the game. Penna came close to scoring in the 11^th minute with a superb effort on goal, which was just over the crossbar. The attacks kept coming in for the Phoenix Project and Varun, the keeper for In2Sports was matching them with some equally brilliant saves. But not for long as, Sanil, with his brilliant pace, was able to break away from the defenders and passed the ball to Gobind who had an easy tap-in to the goal. The deadlock was broken in the 16^th minute with the Phoenix Project in the lead. After the goal, the captain for In2Sports – Siddharth Bhatia with Sagar and Vaibhav, kept the pressure on the Phoenix Project defence with their attacks and they even came close to scoring in the 20^th minute with a long pass from the captain, which was received by Akash Pradhan who managed to get a shot on goal, but straight into the hands of the keeper. The first half ended with the scoreline reading 1-0 for the Phoenix Project.

2^nd Half

The second half started with much more intensity, with the In2Sports team pressing forward. Tenzin got the action underway, unleashing a powerful shot on goal in the second minute, which was barely kept out by Vineet, the Phoenix Project keeper. The relentless pressure from the In2Sports attack had a telling effect on the defence as Ashwin Dua was shown a yellow card in the 34^th minute. But Sanil and Co were not going to sit back and just watch. Sanil came mighty close to scoring in the 37^th minute with a powerful shot on goal which the keeper was able to keep out, but Sanil was able to control the rebound and fired the ball again, but the shot was off target. Even though In2Sports kept the attacks coming, Avi was able to keep most of them away from the goal. No wonder he was awarded the Man of the Match award for his performance in the defence. In the 50^th minute, Nehal was able to beat the keeper with a shot on target which found the back of the net. It was 2-0 for the Phoenix Project and the game ended with that same score line.