gooaaaal! Jivitesh Mehta of St Xavier's (Fort) celebrates against Holy Name (Colaba) in an U-16 Nike-MSSA inter-school match for the Ahmed Sailor Trophy at Azad Maidan yesterday. PIC/ VISHAL KELKAR

JIVITESH Mehta is St Xavier's answer in a crisis. While he played as a forward yesterday, the 15-year-old's versatility - he's been the team's goalkeeper besides being a very effective defender too - makes him a key player in coach Alex Fernandes' squad.

"He is good in all positions. So, it is an added advantage to the team," said Fernandes, after the Fort school defeated Holy Name (Colaba) 2-0 in the Nike-MSSA Ahmed Sailor knock-out football tournament at Azad Maidan yesterday.

Jivitesh played as a forward and scored the first goal after which teammate and skipper Darshit Thakkar added another.

"I have no problem in switching positions if it benefits the team," said Jivitesh.

However, Jivitesh was a goalkeeper initially. "I'm still the 'keeper in important matches. Sir (Fernandes) told me to be goalkeeper if this match went into the tie-breaker. Sometimes I get back into the defence if the opposition has a good forward line. It all depends on my coach. Wherever he puts me, I play," he added.

When pressed hard to know what role he preferred, he said, "I like to be in the forward line. I like to attack. You're a more active member of the team up front."

St Xavier's dominated the game even as some splendid glove-work from Holy Name goalkeeper Asif Siddique ensured his school did not lose by an embarrassing margin.

Among the girls, Bombay Scottish's Lubna Sheikh scored all four goals including a hat-trick against Arya Vidya Mandir (Bandra) in an under-16 match.