Faiz, Vansh take Don Bosco into pre-quarters

Don Bosco's (Matunga) forward Faiz Siddiqui moves ahead with the ball at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Defending champions Don Bosco (Matunga) had to toil hard for their 2-0 win against Billabong International (Malad) in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association-organised boys' U-16 Ahmed Sailor knockout inter-school football match at Azad Maidan yesterday.

The victory helped the Matunga lads advance to the pre-quarters. Don Bosco put up a good combined effort and played with authority to wrest the ascendancy. They were clearly superior to their opponents from Malad and attacked in waves. However, they were unable to translate their superiority into goals and could only manage two strikes, with both goals coming in the second half.

Their attackline comprising of forwards Faiz Siddiqui and Shyam Redekar alongwith attacking midfielders Krishna Karkera, Keith Fernandes and Gareen Shah, worked well to mount attacks, but were a bit hasty with the final touch and wasted numerous opportunities. The Billabong defenders rallied well among themselves and did a splendid
job to keep the Bosco attackers at bay, especially in the first 20-minute half.

However, Billabong's resistance broke in the very second minute on resumption, when Bosco captain Vansh Kale scored from a direct 25-yard free-kick, with the ball sailing over goalkeeper Aban Akhtar, who made a valiant effort to try and keep it out of his goal. Later, Krishna provided a perfect assist for Faiz, who made no mistake in slotting home from close range in the 33rd minute.

Other Result
Boys U-16 (Round One): Maneckji Cooper, Juhu 2 (Aahil Batala, Rushil Mehrotra) beat St Anthony HS, Malwani 1 (Mihir Koli)

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