An impressive Catholic Gymkhana recorded their fourth consecutive win, and that too, in convincing fashion by recording a handsome 7-1 victory against Teresarian FC in a Second Division match of the Mumbai Football Association (MFA) League 2023-2024 and played at the Neville D’Souza ground, Bandra on Wednesday.
Producing a perfect combined performance Catholic Gymkhana scored goals at regular intervals and led 4-0 at the halfway stage. Catholic Gymkhana scored their goals through a brace of goals from seasoned midfielder Merwyn Fernandes, while Kastubh Meher, Jalmesh Nijai, Amol Patil, Chaitanya Gund and Bhavesh Meher were also bang on target with a goal each to complete the fluent win. Teresarian FC capitalized on a defensive lapse to score their lone goal through an alert Zeeshan Momin and reduce the margin of defeat.
Catholic Gymkhana started in aggressive attacking fashion and within the opening 10 minutes charged to a 3-0 lead. Striker Kastubh Meher with a brilliant effort fired home the first goal in the fourth minute before Jalmesh Nijai struck the second in the next minute to double the lead. Catholic Gymkhana continued to press forward and Amol Patil slammed home the third in the eighth minute before Merwyn Fernandes with a neat left-footed placement struck the fourth in the 24th minute to give the team a commanding 4-0 half-time lead.
On resumption, the Gymkhana side relaxed their dominance as they looked a bit drained due the exhaustive hot, humid conditions and went on to concede a soft goal in the 39th minute. A mix-up between wing back Rohan Pagdhare and goalkeeper Vipul Pagdhare allowed Zeeshan Momin to pounce on the loose ball and tap in their lone goal. That setback was a wake-up call for the Catholic Gymkhana boys as they fired three more goals to complete the big win. Substitute Chaitanya Gund chased a through ball and slotted in the fifth goal in the 47th minute and two minutes later Merwyn Fernandes with a rasping left-footer blasted home the sixth to widen the lead. Central midfielder Bhavesh Meher hammered the final nail in the coffin with a neat placement from the top of the box in the 76th minute.
Later, in another match of the same division, Ruffians FC and United Villagers Welfare Association FA shared homours as they played out a 1-1 draw. Aftab Khan scored for Ruffians while Aryan G struck United Villagers goal.
Results – Second Div: Ruffians FC 1 (Aftab Khan) drew with United Villagers Welfare Association FA 1 (Aryan G.).
Catholic Gymkhana 7 (Merwyn Fernandes 2, Kastubh Meher, Jalmesh Nijai, Amol Patil, Chaitanya Gund, Bhavesh Meher) beat Teresarian FC 1 (Zeeshan Momin).