26 August,2010 10:45 AM IST | | Husain M Zaidi
Cardinal Gracious, Bandra overcame a spirited Indian Airlines, Santacruz 3-0 to begin their Mumbai Schools Sports Association's boys under-16 Division IV inter-school football campaign with a win.
Siddhant Kapse, Sachin Lokhande and Swarup Das were on target for the Bandra side.
The task on hand looked fairly simple for Cardinal Gracious as their rivals took the field with a member short.
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Indian Airlines played the entire game with a total of 10 players with their bench sporting a deserted look.
Coach Samuel John later explained the reason for the shortage of players. "Exams," he said in utter disappointment.
"Parents are not allowing them to come for matches as their exams are on. It is very difficult to convince them when studies are concerned," added John.
Nonetheless, the lads from Santacruz gave it their all and were highly successful in creating some important chances for their side in either half but a toothless attack proved to be their undoing.
On the other hand, their counterparts kept chipping in with timely goals as they used their one man advantage well. The Airlines lads however received due credit for their effort.
Cardinal's Swarup Das said: "It was a difficult game. Despite having 10 players they gave us a really tough fight. They played very well."
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