Falcons F.C vs Kryptons F.C

The Falcons squared off against bottom of the table Kryptons F.C in a match that the Falcons simply could not afford to lose. The Kryptons came into this one on the back of 4 defeats on the trot meanwhile the Falcons were on a run of 2 draws and a defeat to table toppers Zeal F.C.
The Falcons were missing a number of influential players due to unavailability for selection. Most notable absentees were playmaker Tushar Karmalkar and winger Pratik Apte. But with more than able deputies in Sudarshan Joshi and Abhishek Jathar, the Falcons looked to kill this one before half time. The Kryptons, credit to them, who themselves were one player short started with 10 men and for one minute did not play as if they were a man down. They played positively for the entire 1st half and restricted the Falcons to only one chance which Anil Singh rebounded off the post. They also had a great opportunity when Chhedda tried to dribble in the box and gave away possession of the ball, a heart-in-the mouth moment from leftback Abhijeet Mulay saw the ball sailing over the post for a corner and no more.
The second half saw the Falcons making changes in the system. Chandan Gupta was drafted in to play centre back in place of Mulay. Sudarshan Joshi went to left back while captain Siddharth Damle slotted into the Centre of midfield alongside Lokesh. The breakthrough did come minutes into the second half as a decent freekick by playmaker Devrat Kamath found Damle unmarked in the box, Anil Singh tried to steer the deflection goalwards but the keeper parried straight to Jathar, who made no mistakes from a tight angle to give the Falcons a welcome lead. In a few minutes, it was 2-0 as Kamath turned sharply and slipped in Swaraj in space who crossed well for Singh to slot in a coolly taken goal. From that point onward it was Falcons all the way. The Falcons had a number of chances where Jathar, Singh and Kamath failed to capitalise.
The third came soon enough as Lokesh found Jathar in space. Kamath took up a brilliant position and with a fantastic drag and flick, bamboozled the keeper and tucked the ball in for a well-deserved goal. And as the icing on the cake, a blistering counter attack resulted in the fourth where Kamath went past 4 defenders before emphatically beating the Kryptons custodian.
With 2 games remaining, things are looking tight and the Falcons will have to be on their toes if they are to get anywhere this season.

Lineup: Lawande, Mulay(Gupta), Virani, Chhedda, S.Damle, Jathar, Swaraj, Lokesh, Kamath, Singh(P.Damle), Joshi.