Pune District got the better of Mumbai District 2-1 via the penalty shootout after the summit clash finished in a 1-1 draw in the Maharashtra Inter-District Football Championship for Sub-Junior Boys at the Sports Complex Ground in Panchavati, Nashik on Wednesday morning.
Pune players celebrate their victory immediately after the match.
Both Mumbai and Pune were evenly matched but the latter held their nerves in the crucial penalty shootout to win the title.
Mumbai tried to make good use of their pace upfront and bombarded the Pune backline with long balls to deal with. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Mumbai finally found joy in the 20th minute, when Utsav Pradhan beat the offside trap to race past the Pune backline and fire into the back of the net to give Mumbai the crucial lead.
Pune’s response to going behind was a good one as they didn’t bog down after the setback and almost equalized the score through a stunning free kick which was heroically kept out by Chinmay Shinde at full stretch. Pune were relentless in their efforts were eventually rewarded seven minutes from time as Pune’s hero from the semi-final, Pranav Kale kept his cool to slot home Pune’s equalizer after a well worked move.
In the tie-breaker, Pune scored through Chaitanya Advani and Pranav Kale, while Mumbai scored only one through Cornelius Rodrigues.
Satara’s Yashvardhan More was awarded the prize for the top goal scorer in the tournament. The youngster from Satara scored eight goals in four matches in the tournament. Mumbai’s Chinmay Shirke won the Best Goalkeeper award, while Pune’s hero in the semi-final and the final, Pranav Kale was adjudged the Best Player of the Tournament.