Stallions Stunned

t was a sad day at Thankamma Ground today, as Stallions FC fell prey to the boys from BVB by 2 goals to 1. The highly anticipated final of the BLA CUP had a slow start, but eventually became livelier. BVB had the first clear chance on goal, as Dhaneesh handled the ball on the box to concede a penalty. The penalty was smashed sky high by the BVB striker, choosing power over precision. John was then forced to go home as his mother had arrived to pick him up. His loss swayed the game to a great extent. A few minutes later, a deft move involving Subin and Varun, followed by a well-timed pass allowed Abin to prod the ball into the net past the advancing goalkeeper to earn Stallions a 1-0 lead. But the joy was short-lived, as Sajul handled the ball in the box just minutes later to earn BVB a 2nd penalty. This time, the penalty was made to count and the score was pegged back at 1-1. Stallions, still reeling from the disappointment of having conceded so soon after taking the lead, were then rocked by a quick surge into the box which was capped off by a brilliant shot by Ismail(BVB), beating Ansar to clinch a 2-1 lead. The score remained the same as half-time arrived. The 2nd half featured a lot of frantic play. Several key players, including Varun and Sandeep, played below their potential in the first half, and seemed to be having an off-day. Stallions came close to equalizing on several occasions, but just could not capitalize on their chances. Subin came closest when he struck the ball on the volley and unfortunately caught the crossbar! At the same time, Vishnu, substituting the injured Ansar, pulled off some good saves to keep the opposition from scoring. BVB almost finished the job late in the 2nd half, when a cross into the box was prodded him once again by Ismail, but the goal was disallowed for Offside. The match finished 2-1, and BVB went home with the cash................

On the whole, it was worth watching the match, as the football was of a good standard. At the same time, we had a lot of fun primarily because we could play around with Vish's mobile, and the company of Jacob,Vinay,Akram,Aditya,Hrithwik, Lal and Ansar kept us entertained. On the whole, though the loss was disappointing, but the experience was definitely worth it.