SrinagarState Football League 2017 witnessed three matches being played with Maharaja Football Club and Real Kashmir playing out a goalless draw in their Premier Division fixture while Super Division ties saw Young Iqbal and J&K Bank Academy record victories, a statement from Jammu and Kashmir Football Association said on Monday.
The fixture of the day between Maharaja FC and Real Kashmir played at Synthetic Turf Ground TRC, Srinagar didnt yield any result with teams having to share the points at the end of the game. Right from the start of the match, Real Kashmir players tried to attack opposite goalpost frequently. Goals didnt come though as they failed to convert their chances. So much so, they missed three easy chances in the first half as teams went into the break locked at 0-0.
The second half didnt yield any goals either with Real Kashmir resorting to aggressive play but Maharaja FC making sure they didnt let them alter scoreline. Favourites to lift the tourney, Real Kashmir will be ruing the fact that they couldnt strengthen their surge at the top. The star of the show was Maharaja goalkeeper who made several saves to have his team at least pocket one point from the game they were against a top quality side. Umer of Maharaja FC was declared as player of the match for his performance.
In the first Super-Division match of the day, played at the same venue, J&K Bank Academy thrashed State Football Academy (SFA) Junior by four goals to nil in a one sided encounter. The Bank team dominated the play right from the word go and gave no chances to helpless defenders of the SFA team. Ateeb opened the account for the bank team in just 3rd minute of the play. After that the bank players stepped up attacks on SFA goal post and in the 35th minute, they doubled the lead through Amir.
Ateeb scored his second and team’s third goal in the 67th minute of the match. When ten minutes later Ateeb scored his third goal and team’s fourth, the fate of the match was over. SFA Junior players tried their best to score, but they lacked the coordination and ultimately had to settle for 0-4 drubbing.
In the second Super-Division match of the day, Young Iqbal FC beat Young Maharaja FC 2-1 in a closely contested affair. Naveed and Moieen were the scorers for the winning team while Asif scored the solitary goal for the losing team. Despite losing the match, Young Maharaja FC team played exceptional football and if they had converted the chances they got, the result could have been different.
The State Football League-2017 is being organised by the J&K Football Association (JKFA) in all 22 districts of the state to unearth the hidden talent. More than 500 football teams and clubs with over 12000 players and over 1500 team officials are participating in the mega event, first of its kind in the history of J&K football.
While B-Division League of State Football League is already completed with IFC Nowgam winning the title, the A-Division League has reached to the final stage with Fort View FC and Novelty FC qualifying for final. In Super and Premier Division leagues, more than 60 percent matches have been completed.
The premier division teams include J&K Bank XI, Forest XI, Police XI, Food and Supplies XI, Accountant General’s XI, Maharaja FC, Iqbal FC, I-League Lone Star KFC, I-League Real Kashmir FC, Power Development Corporation and State Football Academy are participating in the event.
The DFA Srinagar, DFA Anantnag, DFA Baramulla, Sopore Zone and Pattan Zone, DFA Budgam, DFA Kulgam, DFA Shopian, DFA Pulwama, DFA Ganderbal, DFA Zone Kupwara and Handwara, DFA Bandipora Zone, Hajin Zone, DFA Kargil and DFA Leh will send their teams for Kashmir province after the culmination of district leagues.
Similarly, DFA Jammu, DFA Kathua, DFA Samba, DFA Reasi, DFA Udhampur, DFA Rajouri, DFA Poonch, DFA Doda, DFA Ramban, DFA Kishtwar will send their respective teams from Jammu province.
The participating teams have strength of 20 players each with three officials. Besides Srinagar, the matches are being played in Anantnag, Baramulla, Sopore, Bandipora, Pattan, Hajin, Handwara, Kupwara, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Ganderbal, Budgam, Leh and Kargil.
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