29 July,2010 08:28 AM IST | | Husain M Zaidi
Mazgaon side struggling to field XI players throughout U-16 league, manage to do so in last group game and successfully avoid relegation
There are kids, who take their sport seriously, religiously devoting all their time in learning the finer nuances of the game. And there are those, who don't care about the sport.
Interestingly, St Mary's SSC (Mazgaon) is packed with players who prefer the latter. Out of five matches played in the boys U-16 Division I so far, the team could only manage to get a maximum of seven players for every game, with the rest preferring to keep away citing different reasons.
However, yesterday as they faced the pressure of being relegated, somehow, the Mazgaon side turned up with their complete squad for the first time in the tournament to face St Xavier's (Fort), and it paid rich dividends.
Anish Dhatankar struck a fine brace, after St Mary's were a goal down in as early as the second minute of the game, to save his team from being demoted as they notched up their first victory, a 2-1 win over the Xavierites. Dhatankar later explained the problem of the missing players.
u00a0
"They just don't turn up despite being reprimanded by the school authorities. Some say they have malaria while others claim to have fever," said the 15-year-old, who is facing a dilemma of his own back home. Dhatankar loves football and wants to pursue it professionally but claims his parents are not happy about his decision.
u00a0
"I want to take up football as a career, but my parents won't allow me to do so. I'm not losing hope though and will try my best to convince them," he signed off.
u00a0
