MSSA football: Saigal strike keeps Jamnabai Narsee School in hunt

Striker Aryamaan's effort against St Stanislaus ensures Juhu side earn full points and remain on course for knockouts as U-16 league hots up

Aryamaan Saigal scored the all-important goal in Jamnabai Narsee's (Juhu) 1-0 win over St Stanislaus (Bandra) in the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys' U-16 Division I inter-school football match at Azad Maidan yesterday.


Prajin Gandhi (right) of Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) tries to get past Mervin Pereira (second from right) of St Stanislaus (Bandra) during their MSSA U-16 Div-I match at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK  

Aryamaan's solo run from the right early in the game (fourth minute) and a neat finish into the left of the goal eventually proved to be the decisive moment of the keenly contested encounter.

The match was a must-win tie for the Juhu outfit, who are currently third in the Group 'B' table with eight points. St Francis D'Assisi (Borivli) with 13 points are the group leaders while Campion (Colaba) with nine points are in second spot. The top two teams from the group qualify for the semi-finals.

Jamnabai next (August 6) play second-placed Campion, with just a solitary point separating the two teams.

Yesterday's clash meanwhile, was an inconsequential encounter for Stanislaus, who having lost two matches previously and won one, have just three points this far. "An error from our defence cost us the match.

We've made some silly mistakes and conceded some horrible goals this year," said St Stanislaus coach Oscar Alva.

Jamnabai coach Adrian Fernandes was satisfied with full points yesterday given his boys have a crucial task at hand next up.

"We missed a couple of open chances, but over all our boys played well. It's now a do or die situation for us against Campion next," said Adrian.

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