Striker's brace helps St Francis D'Assisi defeat St Stanislaus 3-1
Striker's brace helps St Francis D'Assisi defeat St Stanislaus 3-1It was yet another day of dejection for inter-school football giants and last year's runners-up St Stanislaus as they went down 1-3 to St Francis D'Assisi in the Super League's fourth round at the Mumbai Schools Sports Association, Azad Maidan yesterday.
Only a few days ago, Don Bosco, Matunga demolished the Bandra outfit by a 6-0 margin. Yesterday's loss was their second defeat in four games. Thanks to Sunny Thakur's brace and Clive Patel's header, St Francis D'Assisi drew level with Bombay Scottish (Mahim) to be in second position of the Super League standings.
Once again, it was a set-piece that undid Stanislaus' defence as Thakur scored the opener through a sublime header off a corner. Later in the second-half, pint-sized right forward Patel headed home to double the lead for D'Assisi.
Once again, Thakur was on target. This time though, with a knockout blow. He beat Stanislaus' keeper Namgyal Bhutia for pace and placement as the custodian couldn't even get his fingertips to the ball. It was Daniel D'Souza who pulled one back for Stanislaus in the dying minutes to reduce the goal difference.
With nine goals in the tournament so far, Thakur wants to finish the season on a high as he aims to replace Bombay Scottish's striker Nipun Chauhan as the highest goal-scorer in the under-16 category. Thakur claimed that his side would have had a great chance of winning the league had they not lost their game against Bombay Scottish. "We were really disappointed after losing to Scottish. We have won all our other games and even a draw in that game would have helped us remain in touching distance," he said.
