Delhi: The final matches of the Group stage in the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports – College Football saw heart pounding action in Group H where Sri Venkateswara College took on Maharaja Agrasen College in a must win match for Maharaja Agrasen who needed to win over table toppers Sri Venkateswara College to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
The match saw some brilliant defensive display in close fought match between the two. The first half of the match saw Maharaja Agrasen clearly in the ascendency having more hunger to win the match as Venky tried to play on the counter attack. Maharaja Agrasen missed a great opportunity in the 21st minute when their left back put a perfect ball through for their striker who would go on to shoot the ball over the bar from 12 yards out. Despite the missed chances, Maharaja Agrasen’s attacking intent finally paid dividend in the 30th minute when defender Abhishek Rawat scored giving his side a well-deserved lead. The match went into half-time with Maharaja Agrasen topping the group if they manage to hold on to the league.
The second half saw Sri Venkateswara show more attacking intent as they tried to level the manage in order to progress to the next stage. The second half was a battle of the midfields as Venky tried to break Maharaja Agrasen’s defensive stronghold of the match. They came close in the 67th minute when a long throw from their right back was headed wide of the goal post. Maharaja Agrasen defense would not give their opponents an inch as they would hold on to win the match and qualify to the knockout stages thanks to the astute defense which did not concede a single goal in the group stages.
The victory saw Maharaja Agrasen qualify by finishing the group on 9 points and a +6 goal difference. Other results saw bottom sides Motilal Nehru College(Morning) win against Noida University to finish the group on 3rd place. Group G was also in action as College of Vocational Studies registered a 3-2 victory over Ramjas College to finish second in their group.
