With only two weeks left to go in both divisions, things are heating up in the relegation and promotion battles as well as a five-way title race in Division 2. Parikrma has dominated Division 1 in their first season in the upper echelons of TAL and still haven’t lost a game after 9 rounds. The inaugural ‘play-off fixture’ for the final spot of promotion makes things more interesting as the highest placed relegation team in Division 1 plays the Division 2 team in the lowest placed promotion spot to determine which team plays in Division 1 next season.
Division 1
Parikrma have taken the division by storm and have a chance to win the title with a game to spare. Chiranjeevi Murugan and Nikhil Gopal have been the standout performers while coach/player Ravi Babu has pulled the strings in midfield with great expertise. Season 1 winner Horizons FC slumped to a surprise defeat against Flipkart FC in GW 9 handing the title to Parikrma who now boast a four-point lead at the top with only two games to go. Barry Anand and Rohan Menon have played well in defence while Saarang Ganapathi has had a decent season in midfield, but Horizons in general have had a below par season.
Supernova FC have had a topsy-turvy season, from initially being strong contenders for the title to holding onto a top three finish. Their hard fought duel against Parikrma in GW 9 showed they do have the quality to compete with the best. Adrian Silvester has been a rock in defence while Mica Levy and Nitin Baros are a dangerous front line on their day. Flipkart FC have rebounded from a slow start to the season to rise to fourth, the position they finished in Season 2. Pavan Powar has arguably been one of the best forwards in the league while Mujtabha Magrey and Sudeep Dutta have complemented him perfectly.
Yataghan Internazionale have had their most consistent season to date and are still vying for that top-three finish. Games against imploding Gremio and Mercurial in their final two games represent an opportunity to finish the season on a high note. The versatile Andreas Lehmann has been outstanding for them wherever he has played while Rob Fielder has added a sense of composure to the team whenever he has played. Project 7 have tapered off after a strong start to the season and are clinging on for a top half finish. Rahul Dewan, Sandeep Kudva and Aditya Singh have formed a good midfield partnership while Prithvi Sagar and Nishcal Naidu have been effective when on the pitch.
Rare Dare FC have roared back into form with wins against Samba, Gremio and FCKK while also managing a draw against Supernova. Avinash H and Don Bernard have been excellent in attack while Steven Harole has controlled the midfield well. FC Kougen Kikou seemed to have escaped the clutches of relegation with back-to-back wins including a 4-3 thriller against Gremio but are still in mathematical contention for that dreaded 10th place. Yasuhiro Nishino’s return to the squad after a lengthy injury absence has boosted the team morale while Hiroki Akiyima and Hirose Ito have stood up when needed. Samba FC have had a disappointing season and have failed to click on attack. Their defence has been staunch with their back four playing well together but goalkeeper Zaheer PA has been outstanding making some brilliant saves throughout the season.
Gremio FC have by far the had worst season relatively to any of the teams and have fallen greatly from their top four finishes in the prior seasons. Danush D and Guna Sekar have been bright spots in a forgettable season while the mid-season addition of Javi Cabrera could be their lifeline to safety. Mavericks FC will need to make considerable additions in the off-season if they are to get back to the heights they reached in the first season. Joshua Irkapob and Vikas Halali need to come for their final two games if they are to keep the hope of escaping relegation in a miraculous manner while talented youngster Bharath Reddy needs to add consistency to his game. Mercurial FC also have the slimmest of chances of escaping relegation although that depends largely on results of the teams around them. Goalkeeper Vishnu JP and captain Solomon Alva have been outstanding but need better performances from the rest of the team if they are to finish the season with a win or two.
Division 1 Standings (After Gameweek 9)
Pos. | Name | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
1 | Parikrma | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 23 | 25 |
2 | Horizons FC | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 21 |
3 | Supernova FC | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 17 |
4 | Flipkart FC | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 16 |
5 | Yataghan Internazionale | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 15 |
6 | Project 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 14 |
7 | Rare Dare FC | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 13 |
8 | FC Kougen Kikou | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 10 |
9 | Samba FC | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 9 |
10 | Gremio FC | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 7 |
11 | Mavericks FC | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 18 | -13 | 4 |
12 | Mercurial FC | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 24 | -20 | 4 |
Division 2
Al-Fateh have been the most consistent performers in the division and are rightfully at the top of the table but with two game against Diablos and Athlos still to come, they need all the firepower they can get to be crowned champions. Nihal Colaco and Zaib Sherief have been on another plane with their performances in attack while Chelston Pinto has been reliable in defence. FC Bengal have been the surprise team of the season and are in prime position (two points off the leaders) to take advanvantage of any slip-ups from Al-Fateh. Top goalscorer Saheed Adeoye has been unstoppable while Arjun Sehgal and Askia Taofeek have been commendable in providing support for their star striker.
Athlos United find themselves in the top three with 2 games to go but need to finish the in top two to guarantee a promotion spot since the third placed team will still have to win the playoff. Mohammed Arshaque has been a revelation in defence while Sabarish Kannan and Aravind Suresh have been strong in midfield. Diablos FC, who fell short of gaining promotion last season look like they will miss out yet again unless they come up with some inspired performances in their last two games. Siddharth TC has been excellent in defence while Rahul Bajaj and Raihaan Ponnappa have had put in solid shifts. Titans FC have fallen from the league leading heights early on in the season but still have an outside chance at the title. A promotion spot though, does not look out of their reach at this point. Anirudh KD has been excellent in midfield for them while Rakesh Reddy has been a consistent performer at the back.
FCB Sparta pulled out the surprise result of the season when they beat Al-Fateh to open up the title race. They have a deep squad and a chance to finish the season on a high even if they miss out on one of the promotion spots. Benjamin George and Lalit Braganza have connected well in attack while goalkeeper Binu NP and defender Sushanth Gopalakrishna have also contributed to the team’s strong standing. FC Brunton find themselves once again in the middle of the pack and are missing an element or two to make the jump into the upper echelons of the division. Mohit Ahuja has been outstanding in attack and has bailed out his team more than once while Gautam Rego and Irthu Suresh have played good supporting roles. Joras have picked up back-to-back wins to help rise out of the bottom three and have an opportunity to finish in the upper half of the table. Captain Achyuta Dhanvantri has led from the front while some good mid-season additions in Muffazal Merchant and Amoghsvarsha B has led to the turn around.
Grasshoppers FC have been on a steady decline after an impressive first couple of games and cannot seem to find any cohesion in their on-field tactics. Ryesh Venkatraman has been a good addition to the squad while goalkeeper Aakash Nasarpuri has made some outstanding saves throughout the season. Manik Tao has created more goal scoring chances from out-of-play throws than the whole division combined, but they have lacked the finesse up front to convert those into goals. FC Kudlu have also faltered after a promising start but that can be attributed to the fact that they lost both their strikers, Akinwumi Jarule and Nikutten Neroth, halfway through the season. Prayag Pavithran and Uba Knayzo have developed a good understanding at the back too.
FC Lawless have only picked up one win so far but considering this is their first season, we can expect a massive rebuild of the team in the off-season. Nakul Ganapathy has been good in midfield while winger Bilal Khan has caused problems to defences albeit having little help in attack. Netbusters FC are the only team yet to pick up a win across both divisions and their Emerging Team award in Season 2 seems to be a distant memory. A lack of discipline has cost them greatly this season, which they will be looking to rectify in Season 4. Puneeth Gowda has shown flashes of talent while Swaraj Ghosh has kept his side from conceding even more goals with some brilliant saves.
Division 2 Standings (After Gameweek 9)
Pos. | Name | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
1 | Al-Fateh | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 7 | 37 | 22 |
2 | FC Bengal | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 20 |
3 | Athlos United | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 18 |
4 | Diablos FC | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 17 |
5 | Titans FC | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
6 | FCB Sparta | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 14 |
7 | FC Brunton | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 23 | -12 | 12 |
8 | Joras | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 23 | -7 | 11 |
9 | Grasshoppers FC | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 20 | -12 | 7 |
10 | FC Kudlu | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 | -11 | 5 |
11 | FC Lawless | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 25 | -16 | 5 |
12 | Netbusters FC | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 21 | -15 | 3 |
