Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 31: J&K Bank Academy XI and Iqra FC Bandipora won the semifinal matches of the second phase of 1st Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Memorial Gold Cup League Football Tournament-2017, being played at Synthetic Turf TRC, here.
In the first semifinal of the day, Iqra FC Bandipora defeated Fortview Srinagar by four goals to three (4-3) via tie breaker.
In the closely contested match, both the teams scored one goal each in the allotted time and the outcome had to be decided in a tie breaker.
In the tie-breaker Iqra FC managed to convert three out of five kicks into goals while Fortview FC missed three and score just two.
Earlier, during the allotted time, the match ended 1-1. Both the teams played their heartout to force a win, but the forward lines of both the teams failed to breach the defence lines of each other. The goal keepers of both the teams also made some exceptional saves.
The second semi-final between J&K Bank Academy and SK FC Budgam proved a one-sided affair. The Bank Academy demolished the Budgam team by a whopping margin of six goals to nil (6-0). Right from the start of the play, the Bank players dominated the match and kept the ball moving in opposite half.
Farhan scored a hat-trick for the winning team while Amir, Zahid and Ateeb Shafi scored one goal each. The defenders of Budgam team were helpless before the quality football displayed by the Bank players. The gulf between the two teams was visible throughout the match as Budgam team failed to score even once.
By making it to the finals of second phase, both Iqra FC and Bank Academy teams have qualified for third phase of the event where six premier clubs and two Jammu province teams will battle it out. The matches of the third phase will be played in Jammu.
Over 500 football teams and clubs with over 12000 players and over 1500 team officials participated in the mega event, the aim of which is to unearth the hidden talent across the State.
The event is being held across the 22 districts of the state and is being organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) under the auspices of State Sports Council and on the directions of All India Football Federation (AIFF).
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