by
Teams from Pune, Kolhapur, Jalgaon and Mumbai completed for a place in the finals of the championship for the young colts.
The first match of the day saw Pune District take on the side from Kolhapur District in what turned out to be a neck to neck contest between the teams till the end.
The teams battled out in an evenly contested half as no goals were scored in the first half of the match. Both teams had a lot of chances but failed to convert in the final third.
The second half started with Pune on the front foot in attack with a lot of chances from the break. They were rewarded when Vishwanath Shelke scored in the 38th minute to give the Pune side a one-goal lead.
Kolhapur were hit with the early goal in the second half but did well to hold their own and got back into the game within the space of eleven minutes. Kolhapur’s Satej Salunkhe scored in the 49th minute to draw level in the match at 1-1.
The goal spurned on both the sides as they went all out for the winner but the defences did well to keep out the attacks and force a penalty shootout.
Kolhapur prevailed 3-0 in the penalty shootout as none of the Pune players converted their kicks from the spot. Jay Kamath, Pranav Ghatge and Satej Salunkhe scored for the Kolhapur side to book their place in the final.
Final Score : Pune 1-1 Kolhapur ( Kolhapur win 3-0 on penalties)
The second match of the day saw teams from Jalgaon and Mumbai district face off for the chance to play in the final of the Inter-district Championship.
The first half of the match was a cagey affair as both the sides could not score despite having numerous chances. The Jalgaon defence was well organised and stuck to their plan and managed to keep the Mumbai attack in check.
Mumbai coach Jaywant Pathak made a change to the side at half time as he put on Aryan Hukumchand into the lineup. The substitution paid off dividends as Aryan scored within a minute after coming on to make it 1-0 in favor of Mumbai.
Mumbai scored again in the 48th minute as Aman Gaikwad slotted his effort into the goal to double the lead. Jalgaon did well despite the goal conceded but could not breach the Mumbai defence.
The match ended with Mumbai triumphing 2-0 over Jalgaon and cementing their spot in the final.
Final Score : Mumbai 2-0 (Aryan Hukumchand 36′, Aman Gaikwad 48′)
The finals of the Maharashtra Inter-district Football Championship for Junior boys will be held in Palghar tomorrow as Mumbai and Pune face off for the crowning glory.
