DSO-MSSA scheduling problem forces Swami Vivekanand to play 2 matches in 2 hrs

Swami Vivekanand's Yashraj Waghela (right) tries to get past St Xavier's 'keeper Fleming D'Souza (in red) during their MSSA U-16 tie in Parel yesterday. Pic/shadab Khan

Scheduling issues between the District Sports Office (DSO) and the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) have time and again hit school teams. And yesterday it was Swami Vivekanand's (Kandivli) turn to bear the brunt of the lack of communication between the two bodies.


Swami Vivekanand's Yashraj Waghela (right) tries to get past St Xavier's 'keeper Fleming D'Souza (in red) during their MSSA U-16 tie in Parel yesterday. Pic/shadab Khan

9am at Borivli, 11am in Parel
Swami Vivekanand's (Kandivli) U-17 football team yesterday played their DSO's U-17 pre-quarterfinal against JJ Academy (Mulund) at St Francis D'Assisi Ground in Borivli at 9am. Less than two hours later, the same team travelled all the way to Parel for their MSSA U-16 Ahmed Sailor knockout tie at St Xavier's Ground at 11am.

Fortunately, the Kandivli team won both encounters - they beat JJ Academy 7-0 in the DSO tie and then defeated St Xavier's (Vile Parle) 4-0. Striker Yashraj Waghela and midfielder Kunik Parekh stood out in both the wins. Yashraj scored a hat-trick (four goals) in the DSO match and added one in the MSSA tie at Parel. Kunik meanwhile scored a brace at Parel and one at the DSO match.

"After our DSO match in Borivli, we didn't even have time to change. We rushed to Parel for the MSSA match," said Yashraj. "Playing two matches within two hours is not easy. We were tired by the time we reached Parel," said Kunik.

Swami Vivekanand coach Abhishek Dey slammed the scheduling issue between both bodies. "Due to a communication problem between DSO and MSSA, why should children suffer," he asked. DSO official Balaji Barbade however said that he couldn't do much about the problem. "This was a pre-quarterfinal, so I could not reschedule it. We have fixed dates to finish our matches," he said.