Champions ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation) began the defence of their title in grand fashion by recording a convincing 4-0 win against Kenkre FC in an Elite Division match of the MDFA (Mumbai District Football Association) League 2016-2017, and played at the Cooperage ground.
ONGC led 1-0 at half-time with Satyam Sharma scoring the opening goal in the 24th minute. The oil major struck three goals in the final quarter with Nitesh Monde (72nd minute), Dharmesh Patel (79th) and V. Lalchhuananma (89th) getting on the scoresheet.
Taking time to get into a groove, ONGC had to wait till the 24th minute to take the lead when Sharma against the run of play managed to slot the ball home and give his team a slender 1-0 half-time cushion.
ONGC continued to call the shots after switching ends and capitalised on the chances in the final 15 minutes to run away with the match. Monde and Patel scored in a space of 7 minutes before the hard-working Lalchhuananma struck the fourth goal in the last minute of the match.
Results – Elite Div: ONGC 4 (Satyam Sharma 24th, Nitesh Monde 72nd, Dharmesh Patel 79th, V. Lalchhuananma 89th) beat Kenkre FC 0.