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The fourth game week threw up some interesting results as the contenders are slowly steering clear of the pretenders. Diablos stayed put at the top of the table with a facile win over Grasshoppers FC. Al-Fateh continued their pursuit of Diablos with a resounding win over FC Kudlu while Titans FC held on to 3rd spot after a hard-fought victory over FC Bengal, who lost for the first time this season.
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Joras failed to turn around their season as they fell to FC Sparta Bengaluru. Elsewhere, Athlos United continued their resurgence with a comfortable win over FC Brunton while FC Lawless and Netbusters FC shared honours in a bottom of the table clash.
FC Lawless 1 – 1 Netbusters FC
The first game of the day saw 12th place FC Lawless take on 11th placed Netbusters FC. FC Lawless were the better team on the day as they kept the ball well and took the lead late in the first half through Bilal Khan. Netbusters though made some shrewd changes during half-time and were immediately rewarded with a goal in the 38th minute when Nigil Jose scored.
The rest of the game was played out with Lawless having the better of the chances, but neither team could break the deadlock. This result leaves both teams in the position they were before the game which does not bode well for both the outfits.
Scorers:
Bilal Khan 28’ (FC Lawless)
Nigil Jose 38'(Netbusters FC)
Joras 0 - 2 FC Sparta Bengaluru
Joras took on FC Sparta in the next game of the day. Both teams were coming off losses, albeit in contrasting fashions. While Joras were thumped 7-0, FC Sparta lost by a solitary goal to FC Bengal. Looking to buck that trend, Joras were hit by a whirlwind as Sparta raced to a two-goal lead within the first 10 minutes.
Joras recovered from the early stumble but could not break open the Sparta defence, which shut shop with a two-goal lead in play. Although the game was interesting throughout, no goals were scored at either end. Sparta had done enough within the first 10 minutes to clinch this tie lifting them to 6th place. Joras meanwhile are stuck in 10th place and things are not looking good for the team.
Scorers:
Saqib Ahmed 4', Benjamin George 8' (FC Sparta Bengaluru)
FC Brunton 1 – 3 Athlos United FC
FC Brunton took on Athlos United in the last game before lunch. FC Brunton were tipped to give Athlos a good run in this game, but it turned out to be anything but. Athlos probably had revenge on their minds when they took the field for this game and were two goals to the good at half-time, one of them a long-range effort from Arvind.
Saravana Pandiyan secured his brace in the 50th minute, but the star of the show was definitely Victor Santosh. Kabeer Shetty scored a consolation in the 54th minute, but it was too little too late. Athlos move up to 4th place, getting their season back on track. FC Brunton though are in 8th courtesy goal difference and have a lot of work to do.
Scorers:
Kabeer Shetty 54' (FC Brunton)
Saravana Pandiyan 8', 50’; Arvind Suresh 25' (Athlos United FC)
Al-Fateh 4 - 0 FC Kudlu
The first post-lunch game pitted Al-Fateh against FC Kudlu. This was expected to be a stern test for the Al-Fateh defence but turned out to quite the opposite as Al-Fateh ran out 4-0 winners. This might be attributed to the fact that Akinwumi, Kudlu’s star striker was unavailable for the game, but nothing can be taken away from Al-Fateh’s display.
Nihal Colaco is one of the hottest properties in the league so far and he again proved his worth with a brace. Stalin D and Zaib Sherief scored a goal apiece and the game was done before half-time. The FC Kudlu defence was clueless against a rampant strike force that ran riot on the day.
Al-Fateh could have had more, with numerous attempts on goal. Kudlu drop down to 9th with this result and need to reorganize things while Al-Fateh are flying high in second place with a game in hand.
Scorers:
Nihal Colaco 2’,24'; Stalin D 10’; Zaib Sherief 39’; (Al-Fateh)
Diablos FC 2 - 1 Grasshoppers FC
Diablos hung on to 1st place with a narrow victory over Grasshoppers FC. Grasshoppers FC actually took the lead much against the run of play when Paul Boutin made the most of some miscommunication between the defenders and the goalkeeper, sneaking through to score in the 20th minute.
But, Sairam Ramesh levelled things up with a goal just before the half-time whistle. The second half was keenly contested as neither team could breach the opposition defence. In the 49th minute, though, Siddharth TC put his team ahead with a firm header of a set play, setting off celebrations and the sense of relief among the players was evident.
Diablos then hung on to claim an important victory to head into the festive break as league leaders.
Scorers:
Sairam Ramesh 28', Siddharth TC 49' (Diablos FC)
Paul Boutin 20’ (Grasshoppers FC)
FC Bengal 1 - 2 Titans FC
We rounded off action for the day with the game between FC Bengal and Titans FC. This was always going to be a close game given the form of both teams, but Titans seemed to have regained some of their early season form during the break. It was FC Bengal though who took the lead as early as the third minute through Saheed Adeoye.
Though it took time, Titans slowly grew into the game, with Anirudh KD the man pulling the strings. They were rewarded for their good work with a goal right at the stroke of half time when Akshay Kukke equalized. Yeshwanth Mekala then converted a spot kick in the 49th minute after a foul at the edge of the penalty area.
The turnaround was complete and Titans held on to their lead to emerge winners and stay in 3rd spot. FC Bengal drop down to 5th after suffering the first loss of the season.
Scorers:
Saheed Adeoye 3' (FC Bengal)
Akshay Kukke 30', Mekala Yeshwanth Reddy 49'[P] (Titans FC)
| No. | Name | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Diablos FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Al-Fateh | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 9 |
| 3 | Titans FC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Athlos United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | FC Bengal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | FCB Sparta | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 7 | Grasshoppers FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 6 |
| 8 | FC Brunton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| 9 | FC Kudlu | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
| 10 | Joras | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 3 |
| 11 | Netbusters FC | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
| 12 | FC Lawless | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 1 |
