In a final reminiscent of one from the English football scene of the Eighties, we saw DSK Shivajians FC ‘A’ side overcome Ozone FC Bengaluru with a scoreline of three goals to two. All was not well, however, as the home side saw two key players in Shane McFaul and Amey Ranawade stretchered off.
In a match peppered with fouls, DSK Shivajians took control of the game early on, putting the Ozone backline of Justine Stephen and Chika Wali under intense pressure. As the game progressed, it turned into an extremely feisty midfield battle. The DSK Shivajians Captain Quero, however, took it upon himself to turn the tide of the game.
With defence-splitting passes and runs at the heart of the opposition, he finally broke the deadlock on the 24th minute. The joy was shortlived, however, as the home side conceded not a goal, but game-ending injuries to key players. With both Shane McFaul and Amey Ranawade stretchered off, the visiting side made more on the ball, putting the reshuffled DSK Shivajians backline under ever increasing pressure.
With a flurry of attempts right on half time, DSK Shivajians went into the break with a slender one-nil advantage.
With both teams out for the second half after a frantic first half of football, a cautious approach was what seemed to be agreed upon in both dugouts. This, however, did not last with DSK Shivajians doubling their advantage in the 55th minute. After an excellent run of play, Kim Song Yong found himself clear in the six-yard box to finish off Lalthathanga’s through ball.
Ozone, however, showed signs of coming back into the game, pulling a goal back on the 60th-minute mark through a Vignesh goal.
With all to play for in the final third of time remaining, we saw both teams pulling out all stops. It was, however, DSK Shivajians who managed to get on the scoresheet again through a delicate chip by new recruit Naro Hari Shreshta.
With the scoreline now at 3-1, and all chances of winning the game seemingly dead and buried, Ozone’s persistence saw them get on the scoresheet one final time. The goal by CS Sabeeth was however, too little too late as the DSK Shivajians defence, led by Sajid Dhot stood firm for the remainder of the game.
The match, not bereft of drama, ended with the scoreline standing at 3-2.
Individual Awards
Top Scorer: Naro Hari Shreshta
Best Player: CS Sabeeth
Best goalkeeper: Abhishek Das
About the DSK Cup
The DSK Cup, an initiative of DSK Shivajians FC was first held in 2014, and subsequently in 2015 to bring a much-needed dose of Cup Football Competition in Pune.
The tournament, this year, featured both Indian Super League as well as I-League sides with FC Pune City A, Mumbai FC, Minerva FC, Ozone FC, Lonestar Kashmir FC, Fateh Hyderabad AFC, Real Kashmir FC, Bishop’s FC, Salgaocar FC, Deccan Rovers FC participating, with hosts DSK Shivajians having fielded two sides in the form of DSK Shivajians A and DSK Shivajians B.
All matches took place at the DSK Dream City Football Fields.
