A controversial penalty, five goals including two in the injury time, missed chances, players falling like flies on the field, the thump of drum beats and at the end of 90 action-packed minutes, Mahindra United U-19 clinched the Mumbai Football League super division play-off final beating Maharashtra State Police (MSP) 3-2 at the Cooperage on Thursday.
This win earned Mahindra colts a spot in the elite division from the next season.
In a game where fortunes consistently swung between the two sides, MSP took the lead early in the first half with Azhar Shaikh scoring the opening goal of the match.
Mahindra wing-back Prathamesh Warang got his side them back into the game with a phenomenal strike from the far post during injury time.
After half time, the mood shifted with the players giving a much more aggressive display. Mahindra were given a controversial penalty when Royston D’Souza was brought down inside the box.
The MSP players stormed off the field in protest as they felt the decision had been wrong after a round of arguments the referee stood by his decision and the penalty was given to Mahindra. Sagar Bedekar made no mistake converting it to restore parity.
MSP never recovered from the blow. With five minutes of injury time left, Mahindra scored a freak goal when the MSP goalie fumbled with the ball to hand them the winner and the title of a Shilton D’Souza strike.
