Dwarka FC v Highflyers FC
Score: Dwarka FC 2 – 1 Highflyers FC
Scorers
Dwarka FC (Nikhil Gahlot 42’, 60’ +3’)
Highflyers FC (Ved Sharma (OG) 32’)
Dwarka made it three wins in three games after defeating Highflyers FC in the opening game of GW 3. Dwarka had enough in them to change things around in the second half after going down to Highflyers via an own goal. The first half was goalless for both sides, and defence triumphed attack, with Highflyers playing their usual compact game. Vandit and Nikhil of the Highflyers FC were integral in keeping the Dwarka attack at bay.
Second half substitutions for Dwarka made the difference and even though they were a goal down they were riding high on confidence and a brace from Nikhil Gahlot helped them come away with all three points. Kunal Sachdeva provided a sublime assist for the winning goal in the injury time to add to his reputation as one of the finer playmakers in the league. Highflyers had a chance to score the winner themselves but Navratan Singh failed to capitalise on an open chance and Highflyers eventually paid the price.
Tejan Paliwal and Shrey Yadav also had good games for Highflyers while Ravi and Naveen Gusain put in commendable performances for Dwarka. It was especially important for the latter who was playing his first full game returning from a surgery.
Dwarka are the only team in the league to have a perfect record and they will be hoping to continue in similar form with a tough fixture against Storm coming up next week. Highflyers have played well in all three games and should have a higher return than what they have but if they keep playing this way the wins will come their way.
Man of the Match: Nikhil Gahlot (Dwarka FC)
Sen Q v Storm Youth
Score: Sen Q 3 – 0 Storm Youth
Scorers
Sen Q (Viraj Sinha 8’, Rahul Gulia 13’, Shaurya Sharma 55’)
Sen Q made it back to back wins defeating Storm Youth in the second game of the day. Sen Q have a perfect mix of experience and youth, and its showing in their gameplay week in, week out. Their strategy of high pressing worked to perfection against their opponents especially in the early past of the game and they were duly rewarded when Viral Sinha scored in the 8th minute to give his side the lead.
Rahul Gulia scored a scorcher five minutes later from a free-kick almost 30 yards out to double his side’s lead. Storm didn’t go into a shell even after that as they continued to attack but they were wasteful in possession, especially in the final third, and kept losing the ball, which didn’t help their cause.
To add to their woes, Jatin’s penalty kick was saved by Nikhil Bhushan, who was excellent in goal, helping his side keep a clean sheet in the process. Shaurya Sharma added a third five minutes from time to extend Sen Q’s lead and seal the deal for his side. Aditya Chopra and Manav of Storm Youth put in good performances but the whole team needs to raise their game if they are to eke out wins this season.
Storm Youth are the academy team of Storm FC and was started by Jatin Chopra hoping to scout out talent for future teams and their mettle will be tested this season as they face more experienced teams. Sen Q are slowly playing themselves in contenders for the title and we wouldn’t be surprised to see their name in the top three come end of season.
Man of the Match: Rahul Gulia (Sen Q)
Delhi Student FC v Phoenix FC
Score: Delhi Student FC 1 – 2 Phoenix FC
Scorers
Delhi Student FC (Karan Yadav 15’)
Phoenix FC (Fulgence Kouame 29’, 41’)
A goal on either side of the half by Fulgence Kouame ensured that Phoenix picked up all three points against Delhi Student FC. Delhi Student FC opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Karan Yadav slotted home the opener to hand his side the lead.
DSFC have become well known for the possession-based game, and while their passing is crisp, their finishing in the final third needs to improve. Credit must be given to Phoenix’s goalkeeper Christopher Zion, who kept his side in the game making a string of saves in the first half.
Fulgence Kouame scored just before half time to bring his side back to level terms and this helped Phoenix create their second half strategy. Fulgence went on to score one of the goals of the season so far when his perfectly timed free kick saw the back of the net. Phoenix completed the turn around to continue building on their remarkable story. The game did get heated in the second half with red cards being dished out to Senan Singh of Phoenix FC and Akhil Rawat of DSFC.
The only downside to this win for Phoenix was that they lost their captain Namay to an injury and his team will be stressing on how large of an impact that could have on their season, given that this was also Fulgence’s last game as he heads back to Ivory Coast. For DSFC, Hemanth Barua in goal made a couple of good saves while Deep Kaushik also had a good game. Arnaud and Antoine were excellent for Phoenix.
DSFC have been extremely unlucky not to come away with a win yet but given the talent they posses it’s only a matter of time before they achieve that. Phoenix will need revisit their strategy for their next game given they might miss three of their most important players.
Man of the Match: Fulgence Kouame (Phoenix FC)
Panthers FC v Ultimate FC
Score: Panthers FC 7 – 1 Ultimate FC
Scorers
Panthers FC (Brian John 3’, 24’, 29’, Dipesh Kumar 38’, 42’, Vidit Sharma 39’, Vivek Puri 50’)
Ultimate FC (Nischay Sirohi 60’)
Panthers FC routed Ultimate FC, scoring seven past them to pick up their first win of the season. Brian John scored the first hat-trick of the season and he managed to do that in the first half! Avinash Yadav and Abhishek Shastri supported him well in the attack line and the trio looked unstoppable. Avinash Yadav comes into the league with a reputation of having won the golden boot award in the Reliance Youth League.
Panthers look like wild cards in the league but they have a long way to go especially given the fact that they are two games behind. Captain Dipesh Kumar who started in central defence controlled the game beautifully from the back and even managed to score a brace.
Earlier, Brian opened the scoring in the 3rd minute before adding his second in the 24th minute and his third just before half-time. The goals continued to flow in the second half, and in addition to Dipesh’s brace, Vidit Sharma and Vivek Puri got on the score sheet to complete the rout. Ultimate picked up a consolation goal late in the game when Niscahy Sirohi scored in the final minute.
Ultimate FC showed glimpses of what they can bring to the table but they are far from being a finished product. Malik and Pritam had good games, but in a team game like football, all 11 players will need to bring the good to the pitch. With the transfer window still open, they will be looking to add a couple more players to strengthen their squad. Panthers look a strong squad who should be competing for a top three spot come the end of the season.
Man of the Match: Brian John (Panthers FC)
Q Squad v Wishwakings
Score: Q Squad 2 – 1 Wishwakings
Scorers
Q Squad (Ritwick Dutta 12’, Aryan Suri 20’)
Wishwakings (Rajat Vaish 59’)
The final match of the day saw Q Squad defeat Wishwakings in a tight encounter to move into second in the table. Wishwakings were missing a few key players including Karan Dewan, Sanjay Basliyal And Dhruv Bhatia but credit must be given to Q Squad for carrying out their counter-attacking game to perfection.
The early part of the game saw Wishwaking in control but they could not make much use of their possession. Divyansh Narang had a great game in goal for Q Squad and it was only in the 59th minute that he was beaten by his opponents, by which time Q Squad had wrapped up the game.
Ritwick Dutta and Ritwik Varghese were instrumental in midfield for Q Squad not only in creating chances but also winning back possession. Rtiwick Dutta added another exquisite goal to his cap when he slotted home the opener from a free kick in the 12th minute to hand his side the lead.
Aryan Suri doubled the lead 8 minutes later to provide a cushion to his side and the game went into halftime with a 2-0 scoreline in favour of Q Squad. Ritwick Dutta now has 3 goals in 3 games and looks to be a threat from set pieces.
Q Squad’s strategy of keeping them things tight at the back and hitting their opponents on the counter-attack has worked brilliantly for them so far. Manager Nikhil Bushan was vocal throughout the game ensuring his side followed the game plan to his will. Malik, the coach of Wishwakings was also vocal as his side were lacking guile in the attacking half, and missing so many important players didn’t help their cause.
Man of the Match: Ritwick Dutta (Q Squad)
