Chetak XI win thriller,lift cup

After the 15 th minute,the momentum shifted Chetak’s way,as they started making inroads into Sangam’s half. Kartik Mandrekar released Kushal Kulkarni along the right flank,and the winger slotted a cross into the penalty area.

However,striker Manvendra Mishra was unable to provide the vital touch to find the back of the net. Sangam had their best chance of the game a few moments later,when Sushil Choudhary beat the offside trap and tapped it over the keeper’s head only to see his effort bounce off the crossbar.

His teammate Anup Sawant found himself free at the top of the D a few moves after,but tamely pushed the ball into the waiting hands of Chakke.

Suddenly,completely against the run of play,Sangam defender Rizwan Ahmed handled the ball in the box in the 30 th minute,a mistake that earned Chetak a penalty.

Mishra made amends for his earlier missed chance,as the goalie dived in the right direction but was only able to get a fingertip to it on its way to the net.Chetak went into halftime leading 1-0.

In the second half,things got tense as both teams started playing a more physical game. Sangam midfielder Rahul Kad was consequently booked by the referee for rough play when he lashed out at Shreyash Dasgupta. Sangam piled on the pressure as Chetak fought hard to hold on to their slender one-goal lead.

Sangam’s Ruben Swamy caught the Chetak goalkeeper off his line,but fired his shot wide of an empty net. The chances came pouring in for Sangam after that,with Sushil Choudhary and Vrindavan Dunna both pulling left-footed shots across the goal. The pressure paid off,as Swamy was brought down inside the D by defender Gaurav Jadhav,leading the referee to point to the penalty spot for the second time in the match.

Anup Sawant stepped up to take the spot-kick,but Ashish Chakke pulled off a heroic save in the Chetak goal,diving to his right and punching the ball away from danger to preserve his team’s lead. Chakke came to the rescue again a couple of minutes later,getting his hands in the way of a far-post header from substitute Mandar Mane.

The last five minutes of the game had both coaches biting their nails,and a few half-chances at either end produced huge collective sighs from the crowd. Finally,the official blew the full-time whistle,sending Chetak players and supporters into a wild frenzy,as they celebrated their hard-earned victory.