The second leg of Legends Cup 2016 saw 40 teams battle it out in Mumbai with JP Morgan emerging winners from the event held on 23rd and 24th April. Hot and humid conditions at the entertainment capital of India did not dissuade any of the competitors as the crowds at the Karnataka Sports Association Ground at Churchgate were witnesses to two days of exalting 5-a-side Football action.
Whilst goals were hard to come by in the group stage, it brought the favourites to the fore. Teams like HDFC, JP Morgan, WNS and last year’s champions Willis made their presence felt and were the four to qualifying for the Legends Cup .
The tournament really found its flavour going into the final stages. The mouth-watering semi-final clash between Willis and Intelenet had the taste buds of the football loving crowd tingling. Willis came out on top of the clash and looked like one of favourites to win the Mumbai leg of the Legends Cup outright.
However, fate had other plans as the final saw WNS pitted JP Morgan in the final of the event. A close encounter saw both teams conjuring all and everything to inspire their team to victory.
The breakthrough finally came when Gladan’s effort helped JP Morgan clinch a vital lead. Whilst WNS scripted a spirited comeback, the goal from Glandan turned out to be the decisive one.
“We just missed a couple of tricks and credit should be given to JP Morgan for the way they played. We were just unlucky to have missed out on a golden opportunity but we will learn from our mistakes and will be prepared for the next Legends Cup,”said a defeated yet confident, Arnold – the golden boot winner from WNS.
The best goalkeeper of the tournament, Neville from JP Morgan stressed on the fact that it was a team effort and that is what will take them to Spain. He said,”Being a best goalkeeper is just an incentive, winning the event is bigger. We missed out on winning The Legends Cup last year but this year we have made sure we stick to our basics and that has served us well.”
The caravan of the Legends Cup will now move on to Bangalore in May seeking a rival for HDFC and JP Morgan to compete in the finals to be held at Delhi.
Here is the list of the Winners and Runners up in The Legends Cup from the Mumbai Leg -:
Challengers Category
- Winners - Group M(Best Player - Dhaval, Best Striker- Linus)
- Runners Up - Star TV(Best Keeper- Alvin Rodrigues)
Elite Cup
- Winners - HDFC Red(Best Player - Avlon, Best Keeper- Prakash)
- Runners Up - Kotak Blue(Best Striker - Alex)
Champions Cup (Men)
- Winners - WNS Blue (Best Player - Melvin Barboza, Best Keeper - Debjeet Gogoi)
- Runners Up - British Airways(Best Striker - Robin Rego)
Champions Cup(Women)
- Winners - JP Morgan(Best Player - Clarissa Pinto, Best Striker- Wanda Hendricks)
- Runners Up - Morgan Stanley(Best Keeper - Anika)
Legends Cup
- Winners - JP Morgan Red(Best Player - Glandan, Best Keeper - Neville)
Runners UP - WNS Red(Best Striker - Arnold)
