MSSA Football: Ansh shines in SVKM's 2-0 win

SVKM's Ansh Rathod (right) vies for the ball with DY Patil's Aarav Shroff during the MSSA U-16 tie yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Ansh Rathod's strikes helped SVKM International School (Vile Parle) register a 2-0 win against DY Patil (Worli) in their Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA)-organised boys' U-16 Division IV inter-school football tournament at Azad Maidan yesterday.

Leading from the front, Ansh struck the first goal in the third minute to give his school the early advantage. Despite that setback, the Worli outfit fought on gamely and had a couple of shots on target, but without success. Unfortunately for them, their attempts crashed into the framework twice and they were denied a goal.

Midway through the second session, DY Patil's energetic striker Daksh Sojitra saw his direct free-kick bounce off the horizontal bar. Later, skipper Kahan Mehta's header from Daksh's cross struck the upright. The ball came back to Kahan, but he hastily fired wide from close, much to the dismay of his teammates. Having survived those scares, SVKM sealed their win when Ansh found the net for his and the team's second goal in the second minute of the additional period.

In another match, St Aloysius (Bandra) scored an identical 2-0 win against Sharon English School (Malad). Dwayne Gonsalves opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Jamaal Ashraf doubled the lead in the 22nd minute.

In another encounter, Jamnabai International (Juhu) trounced Manav Mandir 'A' (Malabar Hill) 7-0. Manan Jain and Kabir Sabharwat both netted a brace, while Vivaan Malhotra, Udipt Ballashi and Kavish Khivansai chipped in with one apiece to round off the winning margin.

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