MITFL FUTSAL TOURNAMENT

 MITFL FUTSAL TOURNAMENT

Day 1

Saturday 6/11/2021

As the final rays of the Sun approached the MIT football ground, several teams started rushing in. The players beamed with excitement for what was coming up ahead. The MITFL FUTSAL Tournament was kicking off that day. The players couldn’t have asked for anything more to start their weekends.

 

Ten matches had been scheduled to take place that day. The ground was buzzing with both players and members of MITFL, who were running around coordinating the event. The pitch was all set for the matches to begin.

 

During the tournament, the clouds had all also taken their places up in the sky. Some rainfall interrupted the games, but that couldn’t dampen the spirits of the players. Everyone was raring to go as soon as the rain relented.

The results from the day were:

Match 1 – Prathamesh Pai 2-3 Arya Dharia 

 

Match 2 - Craig D’Souza 4-0  Onkar Kulkarni

 

Match 3 – Eliezer Lopez 0-2 Sarthal Bhadkamkar 

 

Match 4 – Raghav Jain 12-0 Sahal Hamza 

 

Match 5 -  Siddhant Singh 5-0 Naveen

 

Match 6 -  Tanmay Sinha 0-4 Shaivam Ravani

 

Match 7 -  Ayush Batra 0-9 Arya Dharia

 

Match 8 – Vaibhav Vohra 0-5 Soyam Das

 

Match 9 -  Siddharth Gupta 0-7 Craig D’Souza

 

Match 10 -  Sarthal Bhadkamkar 7-2 Rishi Bhaye

As the day ended, the ground was still buzzing with teams that had won and other teams that eagerly watched their future opponents. Ten exhilarating games have set the stage for a thrilling tournament, so join us tomorrow for another blockbuster day!

Day 2

Sunday 7/11/2021

While the first ten matches on Day One showed the intensity and hunger of all the teams that participated, Day Two showed that it would continue throughout the length of the tournament. Any doubts that the lazy Sunday morning or freshly made Masala Dosas in the food courts were going to be a deterrent were quickly quashed. The MIT Football ground started filling up as early as 7 am on Sunday morning, with the organisers arriving first, followed by the teams whose matches had been scheduled to begin 8 am onwards.

A power-packed day with an astounding 28 matches scheduled was divided into two halves (from 8 am to 11 am and then from 4 pm to 8 pm); there was palpable excitement in the air. Day Two also marked the beginning of the loser bracket matches. This meant that each team that lost their first match got another chance to progress through the loser bracket before being knocked out.

Due to matches having been played the night before and some rainfall, the conditions of the pitches weren’t ideal. The centres of both grounds had gotten wet and muddy. But all the teams showed that this wasn’t going to stop them from getting on with their games as they adjusted their plans to the conditions. Also, MITFL, the organisers, tried their level best to level out the ground using rollers which made it easier for the teams.

The results from the day were:

Match 11 - Raghav Jain 2-0 Mrigesh Gupta 

Match 12 - Siddhant Singh 0-1  Kavit Vora

Match 13 - Ashish Kumar 0-5 Chaitanya 

Match 14 - Shaivam  4-0 Aryaman Dev 

Match 15 -  Aryaman Dev 4-2 Pratamesh Pai

Match 16 -  Siddhant Singh 0-4 Onkar Kulkarni

Match 17 -  Mrigesh Gupta 1-0 Eliezar Lopes

Match 18 - Rishi Bhaye 3-0 Sahal Hamza

Match 19 -  Siddharth Gupta 2-3 Naveen Senthil

Match 20 -  Ayush Batra  Tanmay

Match 21 -  Arya 0-1 Soyam

Match 22 -  Craig 7-0 Sarthak Bhadkamkar

Match 23 -  Raghav Jain vs Kavit Vora

Match 24 -  Chaitanya 0-5 Shaivam

Match 25 -  Ashish Kumar vs Aryaman Dev

Match 26 -  Onkar Kulkarni 2-2 Mrigesh Gupta (Pen 1-0)

Match 27 -  Rishi Bhaye vs Naveen Senthil

Match 28 -  Vaibhav Vohra vs 

Match 29 -  Sarthak Bhadkamkar vs winner of 25

Match 30 -  Arya vs Onkar Kulkarni

Match 31 -  Chaitanya 7-1 Rishi Bhaye

Match 32 -  Kavit Vora vs winner of 28

Match 33 -  Soyam vs Craig

Match 34 -  Raghav Jain vs Shaivam

Match 35 -  winner of 29 vs Onkar Kulkarni

Match 36 -  Chaitanya vs winner of 32

Match 37 -  Shaivam vs Onkar Kulkarni

Match 38 - Soyam vs winner of 36

After some incredible games, near upsets and utterly dominant displays, the four teams that made it to the knockout stage of the tournament are:

• Craig D’Souza, i.e Team MIT

• Raghav Jain

• Onkar 

• Soyam

An incredible day 3 awaits as we enter the business end of the tournament. Stay tuned!

  

Day 3

Monday 8/11/2021

The third day of the MITFL FUTSAL Tournament was an enthralling experience, with gripping matches taking place that kept everyone on edge.

As spectators packed the grounds on 8th November, the tournament commenced at 7 p.m. The first match-up on the schedule was Qualifier 1 between Craig’s Team (i.e., The MIT Team) and Raghav’s Team.  The excitement and passion were radiating off the players as they got ready to compete, making the match an even more exhilarating watch.  As the winner of this match would directly enter the finals, both the teams came prepared to put their “best foot forward.” 

As all the players were on top of their games, the timer ended with both the teams scoring one goal each. Since the match ended with a draw, a penalty shootout was announced. The excitement to find out who would make it to the finals rose among the viewers in anticipation. The shootout ended with Craig’s team coming out on top with a score of 2-1! Though Raghav’s team could not make it this time, they have another chance to redeem themselves while playing against the winner of Qualifier 2. 

Qualifier 2 was between Onkar’s and Soyam’s teams, and the former swept away the match with an excellent game plan and strategy, leading to a score of 5-0.

Followed by Qualifier 2, the eliminator round was supposed to be held between Onkar’s and Raghav’s team to decide who would fill up the last spot for finals. The schedule got disputed when a fuse burst, throwing smoke, and the eliminator round had to be postponed to Tuesday.  The evening ended around 8:15 p.m. with a spark!

MATCH RESULTS: 

1.Craig 1-1 Raghav 

        Pens(Craig 2 - 1 Raghav)

2.Onkar 5 - 0 Soyam

Day 4

Tuesday 9/11/2021

FINAL

After three days of hard-fought, intense football matches, we finally had our final four teams. It was meant to be the last two teams on the final day, but the lights played spoilsport on day three, leading the organisers to postpone the eliminator to day four. 

Play was supposed to begin at 7.30 pm but was preponed to 7 pm to accommodate the eliminator. The crowd joined in big numbers as the excitement for the final was evident in the atmosphere. Before that, the eliminator would determine who would make it to the final.

Eliminator result:

Raghav 3-0 Onkar

The eliminator played between Raghav and Onkar was a hard-fought match in which Team Raghav came out victorious, courtesy of 3 brilliant goals from their forwards. 

Finals:

Despite having just played a game 15 minutes ago, Team Raghav got on to the field to face Team MIT, the team they lost to in the first qualifier, for the finals. The director of MIT, Dr Anil Rana, arrived on the field to witness the tournament’s final. He congratulated both teams and wished them the best before making his way to the sidelines to watch the game. 

The game began spectacularly, with both teams playing high-speed, fast-flowing football. Team MIT kept most of the possession in the initial minutes as they tried to build the game. This pressure they built came to fruition as their central defender Vedant scored a brilliant long-distance left-footed strike into the bottom corner. Having conceded within the first five minutes, team Raghav looked dejected but motored on trying not to lose their focus. The game had its fair share of banter as either team cheered on from the sidelines. The tussle continued as both teams refused to give in, and some physical football ensued. The referee had to intervene a fair few times to ensure the game went on fairly. Just as things had started to slow down and team Raghav was getting more of the ball at their feet, Nishu, Team MIT’s boosted player, scored their second goal due to a defensive error from the opponents. This jolt just before halftime seemed to have taken the game away from Team Raghav as they entered halftime 3-0 down.

Score at Halftime:

                    Craig/ MIT 3-0 Raghav

Both teams tried hard to control the game and not let the opponents get the ball as the second half began. Team Raghav dropped a man into the midfield in an attempt to keep more possession, but MIT was alert to their change as they went on with the game. A tough battle ensued, but no further goals were to be scored. MIT took control of the game and came out as eventual winners. Team Raghav fought valiantly and showed that they were no pushovers, giving a very tough fight to the well oiled and experienced MIT team.

FINAL SCORE:

Craig/ MIT 3-0 Raghav
  

After four days of brilliant football, the favourites, Team MIT, took home the trophy as the final ended. The crowd started making their way out of the ground, and the organisers started getting ready to wrap up the event.

Kudos to MITFL for arranging a near flawless event that led up to and in some ways exceeded people's expectations. 

That brings to an end an incredible few days of football and, with that, our coverage. We hope you enjoyed the tournament, and we can’t wait for whatever comes next. Till then, it’s goodbye!

- By Gautam Prabhu, Vaibhav Singh and Riya Jain

-Photo Credits: Akshith and Rakesh