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The quarter final stage of the AIFF U14 National Championship kicked off at Kalyani today.
Maharashtra is in Group B along with Punjab, Manipur and Goa.
Maharashtra took on Punjab who qualified as the second best Runners-up in the group stages.
The game got off to a slow start with both teams adjusting to the hard playing surface. Kamran Ansari gave Maharashtra the lead in the 20th minute after beating the defender. Midfielder Ishaan Dey from Pune got Maharashtra’s second in the 30th minute with a neat finish.
Punjab managed to pull one back thanks to Rajendra Singh in the 33rd minute. However, they didn’t manage to add to that momentum and the score remained 2-1 at halftime.
The second half started off brightly with Pranav Kanse getting his name on the score sheet in the 50th minute after finishing from close range. He then got his sixth goal of the tournament in the 62nd minute when he slotted past the keeper.
Maharashtra takes on Manipur tomorrow in what promises to be an entertaining game. They defeated Goa 4-1 today and will go into tomorrow’s game with confidence.
“We played well and got the goals at the right time. Tomorrow’s game is a tough one but I have confidence in the boy’s abilities and we will give it our all.” said Coach Augusto as he looked forward to the game tomorrow.
(Kamran Ansari 20’, Ishaan Dey 30’, Rajendra Singh 33’, Pranav Kanse 50’,62,)