Russel Shah powers Cathedral to 1-0 win over St Stanislaus

This was the second win for Cathedral, who with seven points, topped the group

Russel Shah starred in Cathedral & John Connon's (Fort) narrow 1-0 win against St Stanislaus (Bandra) in a crucial Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA)-organised boys' U-16 Div I inter-school football tournament at Azad Maidan yesterday.

Russel secured the win when he picked up Arhan Thaker's back pass on the edge of the rival penalty area in the 41st minute. He kept the ball in control before cleverly chipping over Stanislaus goalkeeper Saurabh Mayekar, who misjudged the flight of the ball and could only turn and watch it dip into the far corner of the net.

This was the second win for Cathedral, who with seven points, topped the group. They, along with St Mary's SSC (Mazagon), who with five points were second, qualified for the semi-final playoffs. St Stanislaus (four points), who had won the third place last year, and Arya Vidya Mandir made their exit.

In another encounter, Dominic Savio (Andheri) and St Pius X (Mulund) played out a goalless draw. The Andheri lads had the better scoring opportunities in the first period while in the next, it was the turn of the Mulund schoolboys who did most of the attacking, but without finding the goal. Dominic Savio, St Pius and St Francis D'Assisi (Borivli) all have four points each. St Pius X and St Francis D'Assisi clash in the concluding group match today and the outcome of this match would decide the teams that qualify for the playoffs.

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