Srinagar: In the ongoing State Football League, four Super and Premier Divisions matches were played at Synthetic Turf TRC on Sunday (Oct 29) which were witnessed by thousands of spectators.
Being Sunday, football fans in huge numbers had gathered from early afternoon to support their favourite teams and players. They were enthralled by some spectacular football as most of the matches turned out to be closely contested affairs.
In the first Super Division match, J&K Bank Academy defeated Jehlum Sports by two goals to nil. Right from the start of the play Bank team dominated the game as they kept defence lines of the opposite team under pressure. Jehlum Sports players tried their best to keep the forward line of Bank team at bay, but Farhan Pathan and Ateeb Shafi managed to score two goals for them.
In the second Super-Division match of the day, also played at Synthetic Turf TRC, Lone Star Blue defeated Real Kashmir Red by three goals to two in a closely contested affair. Naish opened account for Real Kashmir team in just 3rd minute of the play while Numaan doubled the lead five minutes later. In just first 10 minutes of the match, Lone Star players were in shock as they were trailing by two goals.
But they didn’t sccumb to the pressure and kept playing attacking football. Momin scored first goal for Lone Star in 23rd minute of the match and reduced the lead. The first half ended with score line reading 2-1 in favour of Real Kashmir. As the second half began, Lone Star players came out with all guns blazing and scored two goals in 48th and 59th minutes of the match through Abid Ahmad and Firdous Ahmad. With these goals, the Lone Star managed to turn the defecit into a lead of 3-2 and they managed to hold on with it till the referee blew the final whistle.
In the Premier-Division match, also played at Synthetic Turf TRC, Lone Star KFC played a goal less draw with Mahraja Sports. Though no team could score in the allotted 90-minutes of the match, the high quality and attacking football they displayed enthralled the spectators who had come in huge numbers. Both the teams got several scoring oppurtunities in the first half, but they failed to convert those. The situation remained the same in the second half as defence lines of the two teams were not ready to give an inch to the opposition. When the referee blew the final whistle the score line read 0-0. Feroz from Maharaja Sports was declared player of the match for his performance.
In the second Premier Division match of the day, Real Kashmir FC thrashed Food & Supplies (F&S) team by five goals to nil in a one sided encounter. Real Kashmir players dominated the match from the start of the play and F&S defence line was helpless before their attacking play. Though for the first 29 minutes, Real Kashmir could not score, once Shahid scored first goal, it opened flood gates for them. Asrar made it 2-0 in 38th minute of the match. The F&S players tried their best to score, but failed to do so and the first half ended with score line reading 2-0 in favour of Real Kashmir.
In the second half Real Kashmir sealed the fate of the match early when Amir score third goal for his team in 49th minute and Hyder made it 4-0 in 71st minute. Asrar scored his second and the team’s fifth goal in 81st minute of the match. When the referee blew the final whistle it was 5-0 in favour of Real Kashmir FC. Shahid Nazir was decalared as player of the match. It was after two games that Real Kashmir FC tasted victory.
Meanwhile, seeing the response of the fans and the popularity of the event, J&K Football Association (JKFA) is making all efforts to make it count. The football governing body in the state has thanked the public for their overwhelming response to the event and hoped in future also they will do the same.
