Captain Rohan Shukla leads from front as Churchgate side down St Xavier’s 2-0 to clinch title of DSO Mumbai city U-19 boys district level tournament
KC College after winning the DSO U-19 title by beating St Xavier’s College 2-0 in the final at Naigaon Police Parade ground in Dadar yesterday. Pics/Suresh Karkera
Kishinchand Chellaram College (KC) (Churchgate) had captain Rohan Shukla to thank as his brace helped them beat St Xavier’s (CST) 2-0 in the final of the District Sports Office (DSO) Mumbai city U-19 boys district level tournament at Naigaon Police Parade ground, Dadar yesterday.
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Despite playing their respective semi-final matches on the same day, both teams played with unbridled energy. The match was a high quality one with both sides boasting technically proficient players.
Xavier’s fast off the blocks
Xavier’s were fast off the blocks creating a chance in the very first minute. They kept the foot on the pedal and almost scored when Klein Pinto found an unmarked Labhesh Aldankar in the box, who blazed it over.
This proved to be the turning point, as from this juncture, KC started to dictate terms. Few minutes later, Xavier’s were made to pay for that missed chance when Rohan, after receiving the ball from Dhruvmil Pandya, unleashed a fine shot beyond the ’keeper to give KC the lead.
Xavier’s tried to get back in the game, but could only create chances from a dead ball situation. One such situation almost bore fruits as Calvin Baretto’s pile driver of a free-kick hit the crossbar. Xavier’s hopes of a comeback were squashed when Rohan converted one of his free-kicks to double the lead, which also proved to be the last kick of the game.
Rohan, who also plies his trade for Mumbai FC U-19 team, was very happy to clinch the trophy.
“It’s a great moment for us. This year we had to make it as we would then proceed further to other colleges to pursue our degrees, so it is a great feeling,” Rohan told mid-day.
When asked about his performance, Rohan singled out his free-kick goal as the highlight. “When we got the free-kick, I had a premonition that it will end up in goal and I managed to put it in,” he added.
First silverware for D’Silva
KC College coach Augusto D’Silva was happy to get his hands on his first silverware being in charge of the team for the first time. He attributed the success of the team to his two-touch training regime.
“It is nice that we could get our hands on the trophy. The first thing which I introduced was the two-touch exercise where no player can take more than two touches. So I think it is working,” D’Silva said.
In the U-19 girls’ final, Cathedral & John Connon (Fort) beat KC College 2-0 courtesy Muskaan Mehra’s brace.
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