Roots, Gokulam share hornors in Stafford Cup, MEG and Dempo game too ends in stalemate

KSFA Media 

The Stafford Challenge Cup kicked off again after 30 years with both games ending in a draw at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

In the inaugural game, Group B's Roots FC of Bengaluru took the lead but were held to 1-1  draw by Gokulam FC, Kerala . In Group A, local challengers MEG went ahead only for Dempo SC, Goa, to equalize in the second half. 

The newly formed Roots FC were a revelation. They played an attacking brand of football and stretched their opponents on both flanks with some astute crosses. The wingers responded well and provided many harrowing moments to the Gokulam defence, but lack of finishing prevented them from scoring in the first half. They were once out of luck when Vignesh’s powerful long ranger hit the post while the goalkeeper was out of position. 

Roots began with a bang in the second half with Vignesh missing an open chance - he placed the ball over the cross bar while aiming the ball into the empty net. However, they forged ahead in the 64th minute when Yohan Victor Britto bulged the net from inside the 6-yard box from the right side.

They fell back on defence as Gokulam came back with some spirited moves to restore parity. They exerted pressure and their efforts bore fruit in the 87th minute when they were awarded a penalty. Roots defence Mohan Bahadur handled the ball inside the area and Referee Anil Gulia pointed to the spot. Substitute Samuel Mensah Konney made no mistake placing it home. 

The two teams then closed shop and were content to go home with a point each.

MEG held by Dempo 

Madras Engineer Group & Centre, Bengaluru, were held to a 1-1 draw by Dempo SC, Goa in the second match of the day. The Sappers were a dominant for most part of the game against the young Dempo side.

They did well to take the lead as well in the 16th minute when their tall stopper Ayush headed home a lob from Imnaakum. They stretched the flanks wide and had more of the ball but did not succeed in extending the lead. MEG also played wide apart and looked a rather tired lot in the second half.

Sensing their chance, Dempo indulged in their short passing game and built several moves. The through passes were struck a bit long and hard. Yet, they managed to come more into the attacking picture. A pile-driver from Shreyash Gajanan Naik was put out at the last minute by MEG goalkeeper Pramod Joshi as he dived low to his right. A lob from Adnold Antonio saw Topon Minj hit wide from close range.

Dempo restored parity in the 86th minute when Arnold’s lob was headed across the goal by Topon and Shreyash Gajanan managed to scramble it home after a goalmouth melee. For the equaliser. There was not much time left for any team to go for the winner and they went home with a point each.

 

Bengaluru fail to break the deadlock as they play out a goalless draw against Roots

BFC Media

Bengaluru FC played out a 0-0 draw against Roots FC, in a BDFA Super Division League encounter, at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Tuesday. Roots FC’s resolute backline marshaled by goalkeeper Arun H, kept the Blue Colts at bay, and saved a point for the hosts. 

The first half saw both sides battle for possession early on with the Blue Colts eventually finding the right rhythm. The first chance of the game fell to BFC midfielder Kamalesh P in the 28th minute, who rounded the ’keeper and slotted the ball into an empty goal, but referee Suresh Devraj, upon consultation with his assistant, ruled the goal out for a foul in the build-up.

Close to the end of the first half, Bekey Oram put in a low cross into the 18-yard-box, but Monirul Molla and Ankith Padmanabhan failed to capitalise as the ball deflected off Roots midfielder Gautam Rajesh, before being cleared away. 

Into the second period, the Blue Colts put the pressure on the RFC backline and kept the ball in the opposition's half. The biggest chance of the game came in the 68th minute when Ankith found Molla unmarked in the box, but the striker’s effort from distance went wide of the frame. 

The rub of the green failed to favour Bengaluru when another chance went begging in the closing stages. Felixson’s cross into a crowded penalty area found substitute Vinith Venkatesh unmarked. But Venkatesh, having struck the ball with his first touch, saw his effort come crashing back into play off the crossbar. Ankith managed to get another shot away on the rebound, but it was easy pickings for Arun. 

The Blue Colts kept pushing for the opener, but the Roots backline remained stubborn and saw the game out. BFC now sit in 4th place with 16 points on the board. Bengaluru next face ADE FC on October 14th, at the same venue.

 

Roots FC continue fine run, beat Eagles 2-0

Debutant Roots FC, continuing their fine run created another upset beating Eagles FC 2-0 in BDFA Super Division played at the Bangalore Football Stadium today. Earlier on the day, favourites Kickstart notched a five-goal win over Young Challengers.

Roots took lead in 20th minute from young and talented Vishal, Anirudh scored the second goal from a penalty in the later half. With 2 win and a draw, Roots FC look impressive on the points table. 

Kickstart in their usual style meant business right from the beginning. They were 2-0 in the first half. Emeka and Nikhil Raj both scored a brace and Sarath getting his name on the scoreboard. 

It is three-on-three for Kickstart and yet to concede a goal. 

File Pic

 

Kickstart rout BUFC, Deccan and Roots play 1-1 draw

Kickstart was seen in energetic form in their second round of BDFA Super Division League drubbing BUFC 6-0 at the Bangalore Football Stadium today. In the second match of the day, FC Deccan rally back to hold Roots FC 1-1 in a thriller. 

It was Princewill Emeka again who scored the bulk of goals for Kickstart today but not before Prashanth Kalinga opening the account in the 18th minute. The score was 2-0 in the first half. 

Abhishek Powar-56' made 3-0 after changing ends followed by two from Emeka thus completing his hattrick. 

Promising Nikhil Raj, who was loaned out to Indian Arrows and Odisha in previous two seasons respectively completed the sixth goal in the added time. 

The Roots FC versus FC Deccan game saw the latter pressing early in the game. Roots boys took time to settle down, they had to replace defender Afsal early in the game owing to an ankle injury, but defence held tight not allowing shots from the vicinity. 

While Deccan’s game was constructed mainly thru medio Shelton Nickson, their forward Lijith was troubling Root’s defence. 

Roots did manage to take control of the mid-field later in first half, they had couple of goal scoring opportunity one from a howler from opponent keeper. 

The half-time score read 0-0. 

Post lemon break saw, Roots taking charge having an urgency to score. They took lead in the 59th minute from a move that was orchestrated from defence. Nikhil controlling the ball from back gave to Amogh on the right flank, who in turn passed to Anirudh, the later played to Amogh. Anirudh again got the ball back and put on the back of the net. 

Roots joy did not long last. An inch perfect cross from Shelton reached Kaviarasan, whose free header was out of keeper Mani’s reach. There was no one from Roots defence seen following Kaviarasan’s jump. 

Roots injected three fresh players that resulted more attack from their end but could not convert to a goal.

Parikrma, Kickstart FC win big in KWL

Playing with domination, superpowers Kickstart FC defeated Roots FC 9-0 at the second round of 5th KWL (Super Division) played at the Bangalore Football Stadium today. In the other two games played at the same venue, Parikrma girls thrashed Rebels Women's FC by 11 goals and Maatru Pratisthana overcame Pink Panthers late challenge with a 4-3 win. 

Kickstart FC versus Roots FC game saw the former taking lead in the 5th minute from an Aarushi goal. Attacking from both flanks, Kickstart girls kept Roots’ defence under pressure; kept scoring regularly in the first half. Roots girls just could not keep with the pace of Kickstart forwards and conceded few easy goals. 

Star striker Kaviya completed hattrick in the first half itself with Aarushi scoring her second. On the half time, score-line read 5-0 in favour of Kickstart FC. 

After changing ends, Roots FC combined well in defence, though the attacks were still coming from the Kickstart end, but Roots girls were resilient to thwart Kickstart assault. This was going well for Roots with occasional counters, however striker Sanjita was easily apprehended by Kickstart defence. 

Kickstart again came to scoring thanks to opponent’s silly defending. Roots defence crumbled further conceding 3 goals in last 8 minute. 

 

Kemp FC start KWL campaign with a big win, Misaka too off to a perfect start

Kemp FC, coached by former Modern Girls FC, Sudhakar made a rousing start scoring a dozen over Rebels Women’s FC on Day 1 of KWL Super Division played at the Bangalore Football Stadium.

Kemp girls scored the first goal in the 3rd minute of the game and kept scoring at regular intervals. They were leading by seven goals in the first half. Rebels girls reduced margin in the later end of second half. 

In the second game of the day, which was often interrupted by downpour, Misaka United beat newcomers Roots FC 5-0. Misaka girls were leading a goal in the first half and scored four more after changing ends. 

In day two of KWL 22-23 Super Division, Pink Panthers will play against Modern Girls FC, both teams qualified from A to Super Division last season and -while Kickstart FC will begin defending their KWL title against Matru Pratishtana FC.

 

Bengaluru boys go down 1-0 to Kickstart FC

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC suffered their  first defeat of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup against Kickstart FC, at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Monday. The first half strike from Sharath Kumar (25’) was enough to see Kickstart pick up the victory.

In the earlier game played this noon, Roots FC defeated Kodagu FC 1-0. With Kickstart upsetting Bengaluru’s rhythm, both teams along with Roots FC from Zone B ended with 6 points. However, Bengaluru FC and Kickstart FC with a goal difference of +5 and +2 respectively made to the semis. Newbie Roots FC despite winning two games loose out by a small margin. 

It was a tight first twenty minutes, with both sides trying to break the deadlock. Bengaluru and Kickstart had their chances through routine set-pieces, but failed to make it count. Kickstart took the lead close to the half hour mark with a swift counter-attack. A quick run from Akshay saw him beat his man and put in a low cross for Sharath, who buried the opportunity.

The game was fought out in the middle of the park for majority of the first half before the referee blew the whistle for the break. Into the second half, the Blue Colts came out looking for an early equaliser, and almost found it through Akashdeep Singh, who was put through on by Bekey Oram, only for the linesman to raise his flag. 

The Blue Colts brought on Lalpekhlua, Lalhmingchhuanga, Ashik Adhikari and Monirul Molla in a bid to turn the game around. The substitutes pushed for an equaliser, but the Kickstart FC backline remained stubborn and kept the attackers at bay.

Bengaluru FC next face Bangalore Eagles in the semifinal, on 17th August, at the same venue.

 

Bengaluru FC Colts make semifinal with 1-0 win over Roots FC

A late winner from Lalremtluanga Fanai was enough as Bengaluru FC edged 1-0 past Roots FC in a Zone ‘B’ encounter of the Puttaiah Memorial Cup, at the Bangalore Football Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Saturday. The victory is the Blue Colts’ second on the trot, having beaten Kodagu FC 5-0 in the opener early on in the week.

Earlier, Jan van Loon made one change to his side as Dipesh Chauhan replaced Sharon Padattil in goal. A first half that saw majority of the action in the middle of the park saw both sides struggling to create chances. Thoi Singh came closest to breaking the deadlock when he met a cross from Sudheer Kotikala, but the winger’s shot blazed over the bar. 

Bengaluru had their best chance of the half just moments before the break when Robin Yadav’s shot from distance tested the Roots goalkeeper, but the shot was parried away to safety. Into the second period, Bengaluru came out firing and found the net within five minutes of the restart. 

Akashdeep, found deep by Thoi, sent in a cross for the forward to run onto but the side-footed attempt was off-target. Only moments later, Thoi’s freekick was tipped over the bar. The Blue Colts continued to push forward and saw another big chance go begging when Akashdeep was found unmarked in the 18-yard-box by Felixson Fernandes, with the defender's low cross met with power by the striker, but the effort was off target.

With five minutes left to play in regulation time, substitute Lalpekhlua made an instant impact off the bench, setting up Fanai with a deep cross. The winger, who skipped past his man, sent in an inch-perfect pass for the midfielder, who nodded it beyond the goalkeeper.

The Blue Colts face Kickstart FC next, on 15 August, at the same venue. 

 

Roots score upset win over Kickstart in Puttaiah Memorial

New entrants to Bangalore top division, Roots FC, created an upset of sorts in the Puttaiah Memorial defeating tournament favorite Kickstart FC by a goal this afternoon at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Vishal R latched on to a deflection from the midfield, kept his composure, and placed it home. The goal came in the added time of first half when Kickstart were constantly pressurizing Roots’ defence. 

Kickstart had a good 10-15 minutes in the beginning to test Roots’ defence, which looked shaky owing to the lack of experience in this occasion. Captain Nikhil, using his experience came to team’s rescue for few times. 

Kickstart got the best chance to equalize in the early second half from a direct free-kick at the top of Roots FCs 18-yard box, but Shelton’s powerful kick found the woodwork. Despite keeping opposition under pressure, they failed to get the equalizer. 

In another Zone B game played in the evening, Bengaluru FC boys trounced Kodagu FC 5-0. After two days (August 13), Kickstart FC will take on Kodagu FC and Bengaluru RC will play against Roots FC. 

 

Roots FC to make debut in BDFA Super Division League

With thirteen years of existence, Roots Football School, one of the premier football academies in the Garden City is advancing up as a senior team in city’s premier football division. 

There are very few opportunities for footballers in the age group of 18 to 22 unless one makes it to I-League or ISL. Keeping few fundamental beliefs in place to take a bottom-up approach aiming Karnataka football forward and the youth of Karnataka deserving a genuine shot at a big league, Roots management has decided to launch a team for the BDFA Super Division. 

Roots Football academy has grown from six trainees and two coaches at a single centre in 2009, to 25 coaches and 1,500+ kids at 12 centres all around Bengaluru. 

More than participating in the BDFA Super Division League, Roots Football Club is setting on to provide a platform for the big take-off for young footballers from the state. With team’s average age being 21.2 years, the squad boasts of 21 players from Karnataka. The team is coached by Srikanth Rajan and assisted by Sunil Kurup, both AFC B License holders who are confident of displaying an entertaining possession-based football. 

Roots FC has made a fair bit of progress in promoting women’s soccer. Their women’s programme started two years ago, and the team has qualified for the Women’s Super-Division this season. The women’s team is coached by Arokianath Robin.

Srikanth Rajan (Coach, Men’s team), Bappaditya Bhattacharjee (co-founder), Dr. SL Anthony (Chairman, BDFA), M Satyanarayan (General Secretary, KSFA), Jessica Thomas (Captain, Women’s team), Nikhil Gopal (Captain, Men’s team), Amit Chacko Thomas  (Co-founder), Arokianath Robin (Coach, Women’s team)