NES International School emerge triumphant

NES International School (Mulund) registered a 3-2 win over St Theresa's (Charni Road) via tie-breaker in their Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Ahmed Sailor knockout boys U-16 inter-school football match at Azad Maidan yesterday.

NES International School's (Mulund) goalkeeper Samuel Pius grabs the ball ahead of Shadab Patel (in red) of St Theresa's (Charni Road) during their U-16 Ahmed Sailor tie held at at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Shadab Khan

The win was commendable considering that the team does not have a proper ground to train on.u00a0"Our school is on a hillock. There is a small patch of ground cut across a stoney surface on which we practice. With the rains, the mud cover is washed away leaving just the rocky surface behind," NES skipper Samuel Pius told MiD DAY.

Coach Raj Kumar said the rocky patch was much smaller than a football field. "The stoney practice area is very small , not even half half the size of this ground (at MSSA)," said Kumar.

After the score read 0-0 at the final whistle, the result had to be decided via tie-breaker.u00a0In the shoot-out, Chirag Sharma, Tanay Amin and Aditya Pillia were on target for the Mulund outfit while Tanmay Raut and Samuel Pius were unable to score.

For the Charni Road side, only their skipper Presley and Harshwardhan Tawde managed to find the back of the net. Adarsh Sawant, Kaviraj Subbiah and Smit Rathod failed to score for St Theresa's.u00a0