Hidden bandages, scraped knees and taped elbows but the India Rush girls had only winning on their mind as they took on Bodyline FC in the MFA League on March 20, 2020.
But before we dive into the details of this match let's take a little trip back to 2016, in the first IWL season India Rush's academy team’s first outing against Bodyline FC ended with a loss with a massive goal difference.
It's been 5 years since that match and today, India Rush stepped on the field with a team made up of 90% academy players. Christina, Rachel and Tracy were part of the squad that faced Bodyline FC back in 2016, but this time around they started the match along with their fellow team-mates determined to bring out a different result this time.
And girl-oh-girl, they did it!
The match got off to a rocky start due to the immense pressure of playing against one of the top women's clubs in Mumbai. This lead to a few errors and the girls in blue conceded goal, but they kept their heads high and continued to attack until the half-time whistle.
The half-time was quiet, with the girls taking in the change in tactics from their Head Coach Nishad Mandalkar and refueling their energy to go again. But this time they were fierce, they were focused to make amends to the score line.
All pumped up and pushing each other to perform, the girls were hungry. Suddenly, a beautiful aerial ball was whipped in the box by Riya D'souza which saw Tanvi Raju take a touch to find the back of the net. The team erupted, confidence soared, it was 1-1. The girls attacked and defended with all that they had, with Laura holding the back line strongly.
A few minutes later, Tanvi danced through defenders and reached opponents D-line which saw Bodyline's handling the ball out of the box, resulting in a red card. A Beautiful pass sailed though the midfield and the ball ended at the feet of Christina Michael who brilliantly placed it at the left corner. It was a goal, the captain had found the back of the net and the team rallied around her in celebration.
The full time whistle blew a few minutes later and that was it, the girls achieved what they had come to do, and that was to bury the past with a WIN.
Head Coach Nishad “The players played to the game plan and displayed the sense of purpose winning the game in their own beautiful style that is the RUSH way. I would like to extend my gratitude to the MFA association for the support”
- Penned by India Rush SC Women's Team
