U-14 football: Stanislaus enter Utpal Sanghvi semis

Stanislaus's Nilesh Ekka (right) vies for the ball with a Colaba Municipal player at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

St Stanislaus (Bandra) combined well to beat Colaba Municipal School 3-0 in a quarter-final encounter of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association-organised Utpal Sanghvi Boys' U-14 knockout inter-schools football tournament, at Azad Maidan yesterday.

The Bandra boys were lucky to snatch the early lead when striker Nilesh Ekka cashed in on a misunderstanding between the Colaba school's defender Ganesh Sirgiri and goalkeeper Bhimraj Jadhav while clearing the ball. Nilesh was alert to swoop in on the opportunity and slotted the ball into an empty net in the very second minute.

However, Nilesh was denied a second almost immediately when his attempt at goal off skipper Shane D'Costa's cross from the left was punched away by Colaba custodian Bhimraj. St Stanislaus doubled the lead through Jaffer Mansoori's strike in the 10th minute, going into the break sitting in a comfortable 2-0 cushion.

After switching ends, the Colaba boys tried their best to find the net but were unable to break down the Stanislaus defence. Prolific striker Sanju Rathod had the best chance but his shot from the left of the penalty area was off target. The Bandra lads then put the issue beyond their rivals as captain Shayne struck the third goal in the final minute to complete a deserving win and a place in the semi-finals.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates