Defending champions Bombay Scottish School (Mahim) displayed nerves of steel as they retained the boys U-16 Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) Ahmed Sailor inter-school football title via a 4-3 tie-breaker win over Thakur Public School (Kandivli) at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Saturday.

Bombay Scottish, known for their fast-paced attacking game, began aggressively right from the start. Their intent was rewarded when skipper Hridhay Harja’s (10th minute) powerful free-kick was fumbled by Thakur Public goalkeeper Idhant Singh. The loose ball fell to forward Sparsh Shvkaz, who made no mistake and slotted home to give the Mahim outfit a 1-0 advantage. With the lead in hand, Scottish dictated the pace of the game, heading into half-time with 
confidence.