Tunisha Fernandes, 25, a nail stylist, steps in to train St Lawrence boys U-16 team after their coach, her father, suffers heart attack a few day ago
Tunisha Fernandes with her father Louis Fernandes
St Lawrence High School (Borivli) secured an emotionally charged 3-1 victory over St Anthony’s High School (Malwani) via tie-breaker to book their spot in the boys U-16 Division-II semi-finals of the Mumbai School Sports Association’s (MSSA) inter-school football tournament at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Wednesday.
While the win was crucial, the emotions were particularly high because the Borivli side have been playing without their long-serving coach, Louis Fernandes, who has been hospitalised after suffering a heart attack recently.
The St Lawrence players celebrate beating St Anthony’s in the quarter-finals at Bandra on Wednesday. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Fernandes, 55, who has been coaching all the St Lawrence teams — U-8 to U-16 — since 2011, suffered a heart attack in the wee hours of August 5 and is admitted to Shriyan Hospital in Ulhasnagar.
In his absence, his daughter, Tunisha, has stepped in to guide the team through the business end of the competition.
St Lawrence coach Louis Fernandes (right). Pic/By Special Arrangement
“Doctors have advised dad complete rest. Thankfully, his condition is stable now. He requested me to take care of the team, so I stepped in,” Tunisha, 25, who is a nail artist, told mid-day on Wednesday.
Of course, the fact that Tunisha is a certified D license football coach has helped. “I have constantly kept passing on my dad’s instructions to the boys along with some of my tips too. The players miss their coach dearly, but his blessings are always with them. He will be watching the semi-finals live on Fancode, and I’m sure his inputs will be passed on to the players through me during half-time,” added Tunisha.
Tunisha Fernandes
After the score read 0-0 at the end of regulation time, St Lawrence skipper Devansh Shewale decided to replace goalkeeper Naman Gala with midfielder Pratik Sharma for the penalty shootout. The gamble paid off with Pratik diving away to deny three St Anthony’s players — Dheer Koli, Dhairya Koli and Kaushik Koli. Only Yatish Koli managed to find the net for the Malwani outfit. For St Lawrence, Pratik, Alton D’Souza, and Ruturaj Shinde converted their spot-kicks to seal the win.
After the match, skipper Devansh revealed that the team is determined to do well for their coach. “It’s a difficult time for us without Louis sir, but we are giving our 100 per cent and more. We want to win and dedicate this campaign to him. We will give it everything to win this title for him,” said Devansh.
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