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A gameday with tightly contested matches was predicted and it turned out to be just that as all the big guns were made to dig deep to eke out wins. Parikrma and Supernova left it really late to scrap through against Samba FC and Flipkart FC, both of whom will be a dejected lot after playing so well.
Horizons too were given a scare by FC Kougen Kikou but they did just enough to emerge winners. Elsewhere, Project 7 continued to impress with a narrow win over Yataghan while Rare Dare edged past Mercurial in a game marred by on-field violence. The only straightforward game was for Gremio who beat Mavericks rather easily.
Yataghan Internazionale 1-2 Project 7
Project 7 continued their steady start to their season with a well-deserved victory over Yataghan Internazionale. Scoring as early as the 10th minute, Project 7 looked the part as they had an effective game against strong opponents. With Yataghan failing to latch on to chances, Project 7 capitalized fully, doubling the lead in the 50th minute.
With both sides reduced to 10 men after an altercation on the pitch, it was always going to be an uphill task for them to get back into this one. Gautam did pull one back for his team but it was a tad too late as Project 7 claimed their first victory of the season.
Scorers: Gautam Rajagopalan 55' (Yataghan Internazionale); Sandeep Kudva 10', Prithvi Sagar 50' (Project 7)
Gremio FC 3-1 Mavericks FC
Gremio coasted to a comfortable victory over a Mavericks side that must have been a confident bunch after their victory last week. They were however, brought back down to earth by a Gremio side that played to its potential for the first time this season. With brothers Monish and Danush helping their side take a 2-0 lead within the first 20 minutes, the writing was on the wall for Mavericks.
Against the run of play though, Bharath Reddy cut the lead in half in the 40th minute but Satish Kumar restored the two-goal cushion 8 minutes later to effectively wrap up the game for the young side. Gremio will hope to kickstart their campaign with this win while its back to the drawing board for Mavericks.
Scorers: Monish T 9', Danush D 19', Satish Kumar 48' (Gremio FC); Bharath Reddy 40' (Mavericks FC)
Samba FC 0-1 Supernova FC
It was heartbreak for Samba FC against Supernova FC in the next game as they slumped to a cruel defeat in the dying minutes. Supernova were stretched throughout the game and found it hard to create any openings worth mentioning. In fact, Samba FC had a few chances that could have changed the complexion of the result had they taken them.
Eventually, they were made to pay for it as a persevering Supernova side scored through debutant Nithesh in the 56th minute. Samba though can take a lot of heart from this performance and look a side on the upswing. If they can convert performances to results though remains to be seen. Supernova meanwhile, keep pace with their title rivals in what is turning out to be a tight race to the top.
Scorers: Nitesh S 56' (Supernova FC)
Rare Dare FC 1-0 Mercurial FC
Rare Dare FC emerged winners in an ill-tempered affair with Mercurial FC that saw a total of four dismissals dished out and Rare Dare ending the game with 8 players. Don Bernard had given his team the lead in the 22nd minute and Rare Dare were in control of the goal.
But an on-field tussle between players led to an altercation between players of both sides marring the well-contested game. Rare Dare hung on for the remaining 10 or so minutes to finish the game as winners. The repercussions of the suspensions to their key players though will play a part in how the rest of the season turns out for them.
Mercurial though will need to build on an improved performance where they managed to hold a superior team for most of the match
Scorers: Don Bernard 22' (Rare Dare FC)
Horizons FC 2-1 FC Kougen Kikou
Horizons FC were made to sweat by the ever-improving FC Kougen Kikou in the penultimate game of the day. Though Horizons missed a lot of chances, Kougen Kikou stuck to their gameplan and it took 28 minutes for KV Adithya to break the deadlock. 10 minutes after the restart though, Kougen Kikou were rewarded for their endeavor when Akiyama equalized, ruffling a few feathers in the Horizons camp.
But, proving that a team is most vulnerable when it has scored, debutant Hriday Desai put his team back in front through the very next play in the game. Kougen Kikou tried in vain to equalize as Horizons hung on to take all three points.
Scorers: Adithya KV 28', Hriday Desai 41' (Horizons FC); Hiroki Akiyama 40' (FC Kougen Kikou)
Flipkart FC 0-1 Parikrma
The best was in store at the last as a cracking game between Flipkart and Parikrma provided the headlines. Flipkart exceeded all expectations by almost pulling off a coup on the most in-form side in the league. Parikrma toiled for the whole 60 minutes and it took them 58 minutes to crack open their opposition, a pretty cruel end to what was a valiant display of counter-attacking football by Flipkart.
Pavan Powar will be kicking himself for not converting one of the many chances he had but one cannot mistake him and his team for their hunger and endeavor. Parikrma, though happy to come out of this unscathed, will need to revisit this game to understand what could nearly have been a disaster for them. Flipkart should build on the confidence they should have gained from this game rather than fret over what might have been.
Scorers: Chiranjeevi M 58' (Parikrma)
| Pos. | Name | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parikrma FC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| 2 | Horizons FC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Supernova FC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | Gremio FC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Project 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 4 |
| 6 | Yataghan Internazionale | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 | Flipkart FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 8 | Mavericks FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
| 9 | Rare Dare FC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 10 | FC Kougen Kikou | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |
| 11 | Samba FC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| 12 | Mercurial FC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
