Hero U-17 Youth Cup Knockout Rounds to kick-off from January 23 *AIFF Media Team*
*NEW DELHI:* The Round of 16 Draw for the Hero U-17 Youth Cup was conducted at the Football House in New Delhi on Friday, January 6, 2023, after the end of all the Group Stage matches earlier the same day. The draw was conducted by AIFF Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran, Treasurer Mr Kipa Ajay, and Deputy Secretary General Mr Sunando Dhar. The Knockout Rounds of the Hero U-17 Youth Cup are set to be held at the Deccan Arena in Hyderabad, where 16 teams will fight it out for the top prize from January 23 onwards; the Final will be held on January 31. A total of 49 teams had taken part in the Hero U-17 Youth Cup Group Stage, where they were split into 10 groups. Garhwal FC, Techtro Swades United FC, Sreenidi Deccan FC, Rajasthan United FC, Muthoot Football Academy, Minerva Punjab FC, Classic Football Academy, Punjab State FA U-17 Team, Sudeva Delhi FC, and Zinc Football Academy qualified as the 10 group winners. Meanwhile, KR Football Leaders Club, Gandhinagar FC, Odisha FC, Corbett FC, Himalayan FC Kinnaur, and Chennaiyin FC have made it to the Round of 16 as the six best second-placed teams. AIFF Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran said, “The Knockout Rounds of the Hero U-17 Youth Cup is upon us, and we have seen some really competitive games so far. All the teams have witnessed great competition and some great talents in this tournament. “My best wishes to all the teams that will travel to Hyderabad for the Knockout rounds. With your great work, we will see a brighter future for Indian Football. We can’t wait to see some elite level talent that will make India proud in the future,” he said. *Round of 16 Fixtures:* *January 23: *Gandhinagar FC vs Techtro Swades United FC *January 23: *Himalayan FC Kinnaur vs Rajasthan United FC *January 23: *KR Football Leaders vs Punjab State FA U-17 *January 23: *Classic Football Academy vs Minerva Academy FC *January 24: *Sreenidi Deccan FC vs Sudeva Delhi FC *January 24: *Corbett FC vs Zinc Football Academy *January 24: *Chennaiyin FC vs Garhwal FC *January 24: *Odisha FC vs Muthoot Football Academy *Quarterfinals:* *January 25: *Ro16 1 Winners vs Ro16 2 Winners *January 25: *Ro16 3 Winners vs Ro16 4 Winners *January 26: *Ro16 5 Winners vs Ro16 6 Winners *January 26: *Ro16 7 Winners vs Ro16 8 Winners *Semifinals:* *January 27: *QF1 Winners vs QF2 Winners *January 28: *QF3 Winners vs QF4 Winners *Final:* *January 31: *SF1 Winners vs SF2 Winners _________________________________________________ Honours shared between Rajasthan United and Mohammedan Sporting in Delhi *Rajasthan United FC 1 (Joseba Beitia (p) 88’)* *drew with**Mohammedan Sporting (Marcus Joseph 81’)* *AIFF Media Team* *NEW DELHI: *A match that remained as cold as the chilly evening here at Ambedkar Stadium for 80 minutes, sprang to life in the last ten to end in a tense 1-1 draw. Mohammedan Sporting’s workhorse captain Marcus Joseph gave his side the lead in the 81st minute with a brilliant left-footer. But his Rajasthan United counterpart Joseba Beitia scored from the spot seven minutes later to equalise. For the fourth match this season, the Kolkata side failed to hold on to their lead, adding just one point to their kitty. Joseph, however, moved up to joint-third in the list of top-scorers with his fourth goal. One could say Mohammedan Sporting wasted an opportunity to bag three points, but coach Kibu Vicuna would recognise he owes this point more to Rajasthan’s mistakes than anything else. Beitia and his men created a lot of chances but could not convert them. In fact, the Spaniard himself wasted a penalty in the 29th minute before scoring with a scorching right-footer second time round. Apart from that, the Desert Warrior’s Kyrgyz recruit Atai Dzhumashev was incredibly unlucky as two of his free-kicks in either half (6th and 76th minute) hit the crossbar and the post respectively. Had the second one gone in, it would have been a world-class goal. So on another day, Pushpender Kundu’s men could have won this match by a good margin. However, the fact that the home goalkeeper Rafique Ali Sardar was selected the Hero of the Match proves Mohammedan Sporting have had their moments. Poor finishing ailed them. That started from the fourth minute of the match when Syrian defender Shaher Shaheen failed to keep his volley off a Marcus cross down. Rafique made the first of his heroic saves in the 15th minute when Kean Lewis made a brilliant run from the left and found Marcus in the middle of the box. But Jagdeep Singh made a golden block. However, Marcus got a second chance which Rafique kept out. He once again denied Mohmmedan Sporting in the 35th minute as Abiola Dauda got a loose ball inside the box. As soon as the second half got underway, Lewis found a lot of space in front of him and looked set to score as no Rajasthan United defender was around to stop him. But Rafique came a long way out to grab the ball before Lewis could even touch it. Mohammedan Sporting exerted more and more pressure on the hosts’ defence as the match wore on, and Rafique seemed to grow in stature, keeping out Abiola’s volley in the 73rd minute. But even Rafique could not have stopped Marcus in the 81st minute. He capped a superb solo run from the left wing, got into the box, wrong-footed midfielder Bektur Amangeldiev and unleashed a left-footer that crashed into the net. Having scored so late into the match, he could have justifiably hoped to have settled the issue but Mohammedan Sporting defender Ousmane could not take the pressure in the dying minutes, and handled the ball inside the box. Custodian Sankar Roy could not get anywhere near Beitia’s penalty kick this time. Marcus did find Faslu Rahman in a scoring position inside the Rajasthan United box in the 90th minute but Faslu only managed to hit the side net. _________________________________________________ Table toppers Sreenidi Deccan resume title hunt, host Mumbai Kenkre FC *HYDERABAD:* League leaders Sreenidi Deccan FC host Mumbai Kenkre in their first Hero I-League 2022-23 fixture after the break at the Deccan Arena in Hyderabad on Saturday (January 7, 2023). The match will kick off at 2:00 PM IST. Sreenidi Deccan went into the winter break holding a two-point lead and will look to extend the gap when they take on Mumbai Kenkre FC. Both teams have come into this fixture having won their last game, prior to the break. The Deccan Warriors beat NEROCA away from home by a solitary goal, while Kenkre picked up a thrilling comeback win against Real Kashmir FC (2-1) at Cooperage stadium. Undefeated at home, Sreenidi start favourites, having also won their only previous encounter against the Mumbai side. Kenkre for their part will hope to kick off the second half of the season in the same way they began the first — with points away from home. At the pre-match press conference, Sreenidi Deccan assistant coach Birendra Thapa commended the decision to allow a winter break while stressing on the need to continue their pre-break form. “The two-week break was much-needed. Everybody is looking sharp. We are unbeaten at home, having won three and drawing one. We will strive to keep this winning momentum going,” Thapa said. Thapa praised Kenkre’s recent performances, highlighting in particular their win against Real Kashmir. “Kenkre is a really good side. If you look at their last five games, they have lost only once despite playing some big teams,” he said. Sreenidi Deccan’s versatile midfielder Sriram Boopathi highlighted a familial atmosphere inside the dressing room as key to their success. “The players are working together, and we understand each other, like a family,” he said. Boopati, played a crucial role for Chennai City FC, when the club won the Hero I-League in 2018-19 and hopes to bring that experience to his current team. “When I won the league with Chennai City, we took it one game at a time and the same thing is happening here. Our focus is on the next game, and then we will look at the next one,” he said. Mumbai, for their part, are already better placed this season than they were at this stage last year. Reflecting on the season so far, coach Akhil Kothari was cautious in his praise and optimistic about doing things better. “We have done reasonably well, keeping in mind the time we had to conduct our pre-season. There have been certain areas where we could have been better and the break has allowed us to work on that.” Kothari also expressed confidence that his team would be up for the challenge against the league leaders. “Sreenidi are currently top of the table but we are focused on our plans. We will be competitive and try to get a positive result,” he said. The match between Sreenidi Deccan FC and Mumbai Kenkre FC will be broadcast live on Eurosport and Doordarshan Sports and streamed live on the Discovery Plus OTT platform. -- ............................. https://www.the-aiff.com <https://www.the-aiff.com> https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam> https://www.twitter.com/IndianFootball <https://www.twitter.com/IndianFootball> https://www.instagram.com/indianfootball <https://www.instagram.com/indianfootball> https://www.youtube.com/IndianFootball <https://www.youtube.com/IndianFootball> ............................. *Confidentiality:* This communication and any attachments hereto are intended only for the intended recipient(s) and are confidential and privileged, unless stated otherwise. 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