Tegh Bahadur football: SKF, DMR FC, Real Pune United enter next round

Pune The Guru Tegh Bahadur football tournament has entered the pre-quarter final round of the junior category. The junior category comprises teams playing in the

Pune The Guru Tegh Bahadur football tournament has entered the pre-quarter final round of the junior category. The junior category comprises teams playing in the second and third division of Pune District Football Association (PDFA), consisted of 24 teams. The wait for the draws of the senior category, which comprises teams from the first and super division of the PDFA, is still on as quite a few teams are yet to pay the entry fee of the tournament. The senior category is scheduled to commence from November 25.

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At the end of match day three, SKF and DMR FC confirmed their presence in the quarter final stage of the tournament, while National Youth Football Club (NYFA) got eliminated by Real Pune United in the final first round fixture of the tournament. Real Pune United eased past the men in red after scoring at least one goal in each half to bag a comfortable 3-0 victory over the outclassed NYFA.

Real Pune took charge of the game in the 20th minute when Ganesh Shinde sneaked past the NYFA defence through the middle and received an accurate ball right in front of the goal. Shinde simply toe-poked the ball into the back of the net to give Real Pune an early lead. After conceding the first goal, NYFA failed to attack, allowing Real Pune to launch a barrage of attacks, most of them coming from the flanks.

Ganesh Shinde and Swapnil Pawar were menacing on the flanks for Real Pune. Pawar came close to doubling his side’s lead as he strolled into the penalty area and dribbled past three defenders, but held on to the ball for too long instead of passing it to a teammate. As a result, he was eventually robbed and the attack did not manifest into anything. Real Pune ended the first half dominating ball possession and with a slender one-goal lead.

In the second half, Real Pune pushed NYFA back into their own box, but failed to apply the final touch. However, the second goal did come just seven minutes into the second half through Siddesh Thorat, who received a cross-field ball from the left, courtesy Pawar. Pawar’s cross landed before Thorat, who was able to bring the ball down and slot it home before the goalkeeper could pounce on it.

Real Pune almost scored another goal a few minutes after establishing a two-goal cushion, but this time Shinde was denied by the goalkeeper. The ball, however, rolled back into play for Shinde to try again, but his second effort was well blocked by Vipul Kale, as NYFA survived another scare. Pawar was prolific down the left flank and his tricky footwork caused a lot of problems for NYFA defenders.

The quick and agile winger, who had already provided an assist earlier in the game, finally got a goal which he deserved just a minute before the full-time whistle. Cutting in from the left flank, Pawar wrapped his foot around the ball from just inside the penalty area and it flew into the left side of the goal, handing Real Pune United a comfortable win in a one-sided fixture.

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“We lacked stamina and fitness. There was no communication amongst our team and that is what let us down today. It is a squad with new faces and will take some time for them to settle in.”

- Vicky Rajput, captain, NYFA.

“It was a good game, but we still did not take all of the chances which came to us. We should have been more prolific in front of the post. I hope we can improve in the next game and convert all the opportunities presented to us.”

- Swapnil Pawar, HT player of the match, Real Pune United.

Results – Match day 3

DMR FC 0 (4) bt NAV Maharashtra 0 (3)

SKF 8 bt Kirkeeans FC 2

Real Pune United 3 bt National Youth Football Club 0

Free entry for women in the tournament

In an effort to encourage the participation of girls in the tournament, Sukhinder Singh Ahluwalia, the organiser, has kept no entry fee for women’s category. So far, seven teams have confirmed their participation in the women’s category — Deccan XI, Matthew AC, SKF, UKM, City Girls Go Sports, and Pune Soccer club will join Bengaluru FC’s newest Pune-based girls’ team in the tournament.

The organisers have decided to change the format of the women’s category from knock-out to round-robin in an effort to help each team get a fair chance at the prize. The top two teams at the end of the round-robin round will face-off against each other in the final on December 1. According to the organisers, more teams are expected to sign up for the women’s category in the coming days before November 25.