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The much-coveted place in the National Finals of the Legends Cup was bagged by Delhi champions HDFC C and runners-up FIS. The duo will be joined by Willis from Mumbai and Maverick Solutions from Bangalore, with the event being played on December 6th at Delhi.
The four teams will play out in a group, with each side playing three games. The winners will be awarded a chance to visit a Premier League game of their choice.
It was a fairytale ending for HDFC C who had already played in the Mumbai leg but were eliminated by eventual winners, Willis. The side from Mumbai came back to play and their efforts paid off as they downed FIS in dramatic fashion.
“The Legends Cup has been an amazing journey for us. It’s one of the most amazing tournaments that we have played in the last 15 years. We will come to any part of the world to play The Legends Cup,” said a buoyant Sukesh Shashtri, the captain of the winning side.
It was the home side that had taken the lead, but HDFC C came back to score right at the death to take the game into penalties. The shootout saw the away side score all three of their spot-kicks, but FIS failed to convert, thus crowning HDFC C the champions.
“It was the biggest turnout in the Legends Cup so far. I was pleased with the level of football and the commitment shown by all teams,” organizer Hemant Sharma said.
42 teams participated in the Delhi leg, but Hemant and his team were confident that there will be no surprises in who will be crowned the champions.
“There were no upsets in the tournament. The teams that we had predicted to make the latter stages of the tournament did. It was in the end though when American Express lost to FIS that we were in a bit of a shock. But FIS deserved it. They were the better side,” he added.
Speaking on the National Finals scheduled for next month, Hemant points the Delhi champions as the favourites for the crown.
“HDFC C are the favourites according to me. We have seen them play twice in the competition now and their coordination and organization is really good. They are the team to beat.
