Giggs-led Mumbai Warriors retain Premier Futsal title

Mumbai Warriors retained the title with a 6-3 win over the Ronaldinho-led Delhi Dragons in the final of Premier Futsal Season 2 at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium in Dubai on Sunday. Lucas Francini scored a hat-trick while Carlos Conzalves netted a brace in the winning cause.

Mumbai Warriors attacked in the first quarter with back-to-back attempts from Francini and Rico Zulkarnain. A foul by Ismail Hamdaoui of the Delhi Dragons got Mumbai Warriors a freekick, which was smoothly converted by Tairong Petchtiam. Delhi Dragons attempted a comeback in the second quarter. However, Mumbai defended well, particularly with an excellent tackle from Rico, who diverted the ball in the nick of time to prevent a goal from the Dragons. 

The second and third goal for Mumbai came from Francini, who scored a brace in the 11th and 14th minutes respectively. The opening goal for Ronaldinho’s team came from Ismail Hamdaoui in the 15th minute. Mumbai Warriors led 
3-1 at the end of the first half.

Ronaldinho scored a total of 16 goals in Season 2 of Premier Futsal, with the last one scored in the 27th minute of the finale match. A freekick was awarded to the Delhi Dragons in the third quarter, which was missed by a whisker, costing them a chance to get closer to the Mumbai Warriors who led 3-2 at the end of the third quarter.

Delhi Dragons missed another free-kick with a double-save from Mumbai’s goalkeeper Antonio. Indian player Chanpreet walked into the game in the final quarter and was leading from the front towards the dying minutes of the game.

Francini’s hat-trick came in the last quarter when he netted the ball with less than four minutes left. With a two-goal lead, Mumbai were merely passing the ball now to kill time. A quick pass from Francini got Gonzalves to score in the 38th minute twice, bringing Mumbai’s goals to six. Delhi’s Hamdaoui netted the ball in the same minute but it was too late to close the gap.