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A fitting finale to two amazing footballing districts, Kolhapur and Nagpur. Both the teams started out strongly in the tournament and gave the spectators a finale for them to remember for years to come.
Nagpur was placed in Group A with Pune, Ahmednagar and Gondia. The very first match for Nagpur was like a litmus test to gauge how much they needed to improve if they wanted to go all the way. They scraped their way through against Gondia and won the match 2-1. And from there on in Nagpur went from strength to strength and thrashed Ahmednagar 5-0. It was as if they had found their rhythm and their confidence was soaring high. The last match in the group was to be played between Pune and Nagpur for the top spot. Nagpur muscled their way through to win the match 3-1 and stamp their authority on Group A as Winners.
Kolhapur was placed in Group B with Mumbai, Jalgaon and Dhule. They knew they will have to play each and every match as a final if they are to qualify for the semi-finals. They did exactly that. They breezed past Dhule to win their 1st match 4-0 and then asserted their control on Group B by hammering Jalgaon 4-2. It all came down to the final match against Mumbai as it was crucial for Mumbai to win the match and qualify for the Semi-finals. Kolhapur thumped Mumbai 2-1 in that match showing just how good they are and fired a warning across to all the teams for the TITLE.
Nagpur was squared against Dhule for the Semi-finals in which they were made to toil against a resilient Dhule Team to win the match 2-1. Kolhapur was drawn against Pune who were eager to avenge their loss against Nagpur and set up a dramatic finale against them. But Kolhapur had other ideas and ran rampant against a hapless Pune to win the match 3-1.
This set up a mouth-watering finale between 2 teams that performed exceptionally well and deserved to be in the finals. It was always going to a tight affair between both teams and it indeed end up that way as the Final was decided on penalties after both teams finished with one goal apiece at the end of full time.
Kolhapur held their nerves to win 7-6 on penalties and lift the Cup.
