Day 2: Kochi trounce high- flying Mumbai

Ryan Giggs went from hero to villain as the Mumbaikars fell to their first defeat…

Kochi 5s trounced Mumbai 4-1 in the first clash of Day 2 at Premier Futsal 2016. The southern outfit emerged victorious after a late surge in what was a largely uninspiring contest by futsal standards. It was Mumbai who made the early running with Foglia the star from their first game again in the thick of the action. However, they failed to make their domination count for goals and the turning point in the contest came midway through the third quarter as Ryan Giggs, Mumbai’s hero from yesterday, conceded the sixth of their accumulated fouls by needlessly tripping Michel Salgado. Deives Moraes converted from the resulting 9-yard penalty to put Kochi into a lead they scarcely deserved. Giggs went some way to atoning for his error by setting up Angellot for the equaliser minutes later. With the game locked at 1-1 heading into the final 10 minutes a quick burst saw Kochi take control with Moraes and Gekabert netting twice in the space of a minute. As if it was only fitting the most attractive moment of the match came late in the fourth quarter when Salgado added another for his side after brilliantly outfoxing the goalkeeper before slotting into an open net. With the opening goal taking all of 25 minutes this contest was hardly the best advert for futsal. However, when the game did spring into life the action and the goals came like London buses. It was a perfect start for Kochi who can now build on this win. For Mumbai, it’s time to go back to the drawing board ahead of the next round of games. Kolkata and Bengaluru share the spoils after 1-1 draw Another side that won yesterday, Kolkata, had to settle for a draw in tonight’s second contest against Bengaluru. In keeping with the low scoring and tight theme of the day this was also a game of few chances. An error from the otherwise solid Cidao allowed Bengaluru’s Jonathan to open the scoring in the first quarter, also making him the second Indian to net at the extravaganza. However, the lead was short-lived with Kolkata hitting right back through Pula, who netted his second goal at the tournament. So, both sides went into half-time on level terms and that is how it remained for the rest of the game. In what was the highlight of the day, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes made his bow at Premier Futsal and while the tenacious Englishman was solid on the whole, the moments of magic that would get the crowds on their feet were few and far between. Kolkata will be the happier of the two sides as they are now on four points from two games whereas Bengaluru will be keen to build on this draw with a win in their next clash.