In a must-win contest, Borivli school emerge triumphant 2-1 to top the group
St Francis D'Assisi's Khushal Makwana (centre) vies for the ball against St Pius 'X' goalkeeper Sahil Gite (left) during the MSSA U-16 Div-1 inter-school football match at Azad Maidan on Saturday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Opportunistic strikers Khushal Makwana and Harsh Sawak capitalised on the chances that came their way to score a goal each which proved crucial for St Francis D'Assisi (Borivli) in clinching a hard-fought 2-1 win against a determined St Pius 'X' (Mulund) in a tense and absorbing boys' U-16 Div-I-D league match of the MSSA inter-school football tournament at Azad Maidan on Saturday.
Neel Kadam scored to keep St Pius in the fight, but later, poor finishing and a crowded D'Assisi defence denied them from scoring more goals as they ended up on the losing side. The three points earned from this victory boosted D'Assisi's points tally to seven and lifted them to the top of the group. St Pius and Dominic Savio (Andheri) finished with four points each, but the latter with a better goal-difference of plus-one as compared to nil of the Mulund team, claimed the second position. Hence, D'Assisi and Dominic Savio qualified for the quarter-final play-offs.
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The match witnessed a keen contest as both D'Assisi and St Pius required a win at all costs to stay in contention of advancing to the knockout phase of the competition. But, it was the Mulund lads who succumbed to pressure and conceded a soft first goal. Goalkeeper Sahil Gite hesitated in leaving his charge and allowed D'Assisi's centre-forward Khushal to sneak in behind defender Tanishq Andrian and poke the ball into an empty net in the 21st minute. St Pius coach Carlton D'Souza reigned his attack line and they started to put the D'Assisi citadel under pressure. But against the run of play, D'Assisi doubled the lead when Wilson Rodrigues, with a square pass from the right found, Harsh unmarked inside the rival box. Harsh trapped the ball and fired home past goalkeeper Sahil in the 36th minute.
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