Maharashtra came back from a goal down to beat West Bengal in the Semi-Finals of the AIFF U14 National Championship today.
Maharashtra has been scoring goals early in their previous matches; however, it was the home team that took the lead within 30 seconds with Kiyan Nasiri scoring for the home team.
Maharashtra continued to press and had a chance in the 9th minute but Pranav Kanse’s shot hit the cross bar. They continued to keep possession and had a number of attacks but the score remained the same at half time.
Shoaib Memon replaced Yunis Shaikh at half time and he made an immediate impact. Yugpurush crossed into the box and Shoaib tapped home to give Maharashtra the equalizer. He got his second of the match five minutes later when he latched on to a long ball and slotted it past the keeper in the 50th minute.
Maharashtra was not happy to settle on the one goal lead and continued to attack. They were rewarded in the 60th minute when Clivert Miller’s shot deflected in off the keeper.
Striker Pranav Kanse added to his eight goals with a screamer from 30 yards out in the dying minutes of the game
“Aryan Yugpurush, Ishaan Kandwal, Kamran Ansari and Shoaib Memon put in strong performances but the win could not have been possible without the confidence of the team. After going a goal down so early in the game, it shows a lot of composure to come back and win. “said Coach Augusto of the team’s performance.
Maharashtra will now take on Manipur in the finals tomorrow.