MSSA Ahmed Sailor Cup: St Stanislaus hammer hapless St Anne's 6-0

St Stanislaus' Raaquib Merchant (right) tussles for the ball with St Anne's players during the MSSA inter-school hockey at MHAL-Mahindra Stadium in Churchgate yesterday. Pic/Shadab Khan

St Stanislaus' Raaquib Merchant (right) tussles for the ball with St Anne's players during the MSSA inter-school hockey at MHAL-Mahindra Stadium in Churchgate yesterday. Pic/Shadab Khan

St stanislaus High School (Bandra) had Marven Pereira and Raaquib Merchant to thank, as their braces helped their side defeat St Anne's (Orlem) 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) Ahmed Sailor League cum knockout U-16 inter-school hockey tournament at MHAL- Mahindra Stadium in Churchgate yesterday.

Footballers in team
Stanislaus were billed favourites against the less fancied St Anne's, who according to their coach Newman D'Souza, had to field football players to complete the team. Even so, St Anne's matched the Bandra outfit in every regard despite falling behind in the very first minute through Sanjay Sawant's goal. St Anne's hung in there, but the pressure was too much to handle.

The Orlem team crumbled as they conceded three more in the first half through a deflection goal from Raaquib and a brace from Marven. Raaquib added another in the second half. Saurabh Gupta scored to cap off a stunning performance.

Possession play
Raaquib was satisfied with his performance and with the level of play showcased by his team. "It feels good to score two goals. We had so much possession. We passed it around well and the combinations were good," he told mid-day. Stanislaus, who are now in the semi-finals, may face Don Bosco (Matunga), if they win their quarter-final match against Guru Nanak (GTB Nagar).