It's been five years since St Stanislaus, Bandra lifted the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) U-16 Division I football title. Last-year, the team came third. This time around, Stanislaus are determined to make amends and win the much-coveted trophy.
They begin their campaign against St Dominic Savio, Andheri today. They will be able to avail the services of four of their key players from last year’s side — Isaac Cardoz, Reuben R Fernandes, Andreas Castellino and Reuben Fernandes.
Stanislaus players warm-up on their school ground. PIC/Sundari Iyer
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Players like Ryan D’Souza, Sam Fernandes, Kevin Barnes and Niranjan Kumar have been promoted from last year’s U-14 team while goalkeeper Pratik Varaskar will make his Elite Division debut this season.
Players from last year’s team — Melchoir Fernandes, Blake D’Souza, Dale Hendriques, Dermot Gracious, Yohan Pavri, Nathan Fernandes and Warren Braganza will not be featuring this time round.
Skipper Isaac is confident of his team’s prospects this season and is hoping that they will be able to end Bosco’s dominance. “We have had some close finishes with Don Bosco and Campion for the last couple of years. Even last year, we drew our last match or else we could have finished second.
Isaac Cardoz
This is my last year in school and I want to pass out winning the MSSA U-16 title. This also happens to be our school’s 150th year and I hope that we will win the title to add to the celebrations,” he told MiD DAY.
“We have a fairly good side. I just hope that our goalkeeper gels well with the team and we are able to play as one unit,” added the 15-year-old striker.
Striker Ryan believes the lack of consistency was probably the reason behind their downfall. “Unlike every year, we started practice for the MSSA season right from March. This year we will focus and ensure we give our best.”
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