In do-or-die battle, defending champions Don Bosco (Matunga) ride on Naveen Ganeshan’s brace to beat Christ Church (Byculla) 4-0 and storm into last eight
Don Bosco’s Naveen Ganeshan (centre) during the match vs Christ Church on Wednesday. Pic/Atul Kamble
Riding high on Naveen Ganeshan’s brace, defending champions Don Bosco High School (Matunga) provided a timely reminder of their quality by thumping Christ Church School (Byculla) 4-0 in a boys U-16 Division I Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football match at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Wednesday.
Despite beating Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) 4-0 in their previous match, the Matunga side found themselves in a do-or-die situation having lost their opening encounter in Group B to Cambridge School (Kandivli) 0-1.
However, Ganeshan calmed the nerves all around early by striking a precise shot into the left corner in the 16th minute. Five minutes later, Menash D’Souza doubled the lead with a tap in, to end the first half 2-0.
Don Bosco continued to dominate possession and create chances in the second half with Ganeshan notching up his brace via a strike into the bottom right corner (31st min).
Skipper Bhavya Sandesh then capped it off in the 42nd minute, launching a thunderous shot from outside the box into the top left corner, sealing a 4-0 rout of Christ Church and securing Don Bosco’s place in the last eight.
Don Bosco coach Leslie Machado was relieved with the result. “These last two matches were critical for us. The boys showed courage and responded well by working harder and learning from their setbacks. I’m extremely proud of their effort and spirit,” he said.
The Matunga side’s skipper Bhavya said, “We knew we had to win today. We went back, looked at where we went wrong in the first game, and made sure we corrected every detail. We stayed focused, communicated well and took our chances. That made the difference.”
Other results
BOYS U-16 DIV-I
. Don Bosco High School (Borivli) 6 (Aarav Kataria 3, Cristiano Lewis, Elijah Fernandes, Saumil Wadgaonkar) bt St Paul High School (Dadar) 0
. Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) 4 (Rishan Arora 3, Jeh Budhwani) bt Cambridge School (Kandivli) 0
. St Joseph’s High School (Malad) 4 (Ayaan Maniar 2, Reuven Pillai, Satvik Mada) bt Utpal Sanghvi Global 2 (Arnav Sharma 2)
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