Goalkeeper Deshmukh makes two vital saves in tie-breaker to help Thakur Public School (Kandivli) beat Don Bosco (Matunga) ‘B’ 4-3 and enter quarters
Thakur Public School’s Shardul Deshmukh saves a penalty against Don Bosco ‘B’ during their match in Bandra on Monday. Pic/Satej Shinde
Riding on Shardul Deshmukh’s heroics under the bar, Thakur Public School (Kandivli) beat Don Bosco High School ‘B’ (Matunga) 4-3 in a thrilling tie-breaker to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the boys U-16 Division-II Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament at the Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Monday.
Both sides had their chances to break the deadlock in regulation time. Arnav Singh’s first-half strike for Thakur narrowly missed the target, while Don Bosco’s Aryan Parab tested the goalkeeper with a strong attempt that was kept out by Shardul.
In the tie-breaker, Shardul proved to be the difference with two crucial saves. The Thakur custodian first dived to his right to block Jordan Fernando’s opening penalty and later guessed correctly to his left to stop Amit Pal’s attempt.
For the Kandivli outfit, Arnav, Aadi Tembulkar, Apurva Sahani, and Arsh Shetty converted their spot-kicks. Don Bosco scored through Harshal Devle, Vismay Shetty, and Aryan Parab.
Interestingly, Class X student Shardul would not have been part of the team as his parents were initially worried about his studies. “Since Shardul is in Class X, his parents were notnin fabour of him playing this year. We had to convince them to let him play as he has been our first-choice goalkeeper since the U-12 age-group and has always performed well,” Prasad Bhosake, coach of the Thakur side, told mid-day.
Shardul added, “It was difficult to convince my parents. Eventually I assured them that since my board exams are only next year [March], so I have enough time to study and I will do well like I did in Class IX where I secured 80 percent. Thankfully, they agreed.”
In another pre-quarterfinal encounter, St Anthony’s High School (Malwani) defeated Swami Vivekanand International (Vile Parle) 2-0. Striker Deer Koli scored both goals for St Anthony’s.
Other Results
Boys U-16 Div-II pre-quarters
RN Podar (Santacruz) 2 (Marwan Agashe, Jay Gupta) bt Bombay Scottish School (Powai) 1 (Akshaj Shetty)
Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) 4 (Dhiyaan Vora, Ayaan Pancholi, Aarush Arbhati, Meir Kadaria) bt Hiranandani Foundation (Powai) 1 (Preehan Shetty)
Girls U-16 Div-II
Bai Avabai F Petit (Bandra) 7 (Mireya Arora 2, Zara Kakalia 3, Ayesha Malabarwala, Ariana Jadwani 1) bt St John the Evangelist (Marol) 0
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