by Suman Gupta
Mumbai: Kalina United continued with their impressive winning form and handed Kalina Village Boys (KVB) Orange a 4-0 defeat in a round-4 match of the Kalina Football League (KFL) 2023, organised by the Our Lady of Egypt Church Sports Committee under the auspice of the Mumbai Football Association (MFA) and played at the Our Lady of Egypt Church ground, Kalina.
Last year’s runners-up Kalina United dominated play from the start and should have won by a much bigger scoreline, but Kalina Village Boys goalkeeper Firaz Kazi made some timely saves to restrict Kalina United attackers from scoring only four goals. Kalina United striker Anthony Machado scored a brace of goals while Lalith Kumar Bangera and Bunty Gowda struck one apiece to seal Kalina United win. Kalina Village Boys goalkeeper Kazi was later adjudged winner for the ‘Gatsby Man of the Match’ award and received his prize from Selsa Colaco, Secretary, OLEP Sports Committee.
Later, Kalina Village Boys (KVB) Green tasted success as they Oceanics Sports Club by a comfortable 3-0 margin. The Kalina Village team were well-served by strikers Akshay Bhagat, Danston Rodrigues and Clinton Cordeiro all contributing with one goal each to complete the win.
Meanwhile, defending champions Air India Colony Boys bounced back to winning form as they managed to overcome Egyptian Boys by a fighting 2-1 margin. Jaydeep Panarkar and Kalpesh Rane were bang on target with a goal each for the Air India outfit, while Egyptian Boys pulled one back through Ashfaq Khan’s efforts.
In the fourth match, J.P. United, who had scored a shock win against Air India Colony Boys in the previous round, maintained their winning momentum as they got the better of Kalina Rangers by a narrow 1-0 score line. Striker Akshay Jadhav scored the decisive winning goal to secure United’s victory.
Results – Round 4: Kalina United 4 (Anthony Machado 2, Lalith Kumar Bangera, Bunty Gowda) beat Kalina Village Boys Orange 0.
Kalina Village Boys Green 3 (Akshay Bhagat, Danston Rodrigues, Clinton Cordeiro) beat Oceanics SC 0.
Air India Colony Boys 2 (Jaydeep Panarkar, Kalpesh Rane) beat Egyptian Boys 1 (Ashfaq Khan).
J.P. United 1 (Akshay Jadhav) beat Kalina Rangers 0.
