St Stanislaus has Bhutia to thank for Utpal Sanghvi triumph

Updated on: 30 September,2009 07:29 AM IST |
Clinton Vaz |

ST Stanislaus (Bandra) have mastered the art of getting the better of a painstaking schedule.

ST Stanislaus (Bandra) have mastered the art of getting the better of a painstaking schedule. With three tournaments being played simultaneously (MSSA League, Utpal Sanghvi knockout and DSO), Stanislaus have been left with no breathing space.

Head coach Hyacinth Cardoz said, "We have played continuously for two weeks. Sometimes we have even played two games a day. When we asked the authorities to change the schedule, they turned a deaf ear to it."

Adding to their woes, the players have to shuffle with their mid-term exams to make it for matches. After appearing for their Marathi paper yesterday, they were up for a tougher challenge against St Mary's (ICSE) for the summit clash of the Nike-MSSA Utpal Sanghvi Knockout Tournament.

Though both teams failed to break the deadlock in regulation time, Stanislaus custodian Namgyal Bhutiau00a0 made the difference in the tie-breaker. Nicknamed Bhaichung after the India skipper by his teammates, Bhutia pulled off a couple of brilliant saves during the penalties to win it for his team 4-2.

Namgyal, who hails from his idol's state, Sikkim, dedicated the feat to his coach coach Godfrey Pereira, a former international.

Namgyal said, "I would like to dedicate this win to my coach Pereira. It is he who groomed me into a player I am today. I wish he had seen me perform today."