St Lawrence (Kandivli) surprised everyone by winning the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys' U-16 Division I title last year, and now face with an even tougher challenge of defending that prestigious title as the new season of schools football kicks off at Azad Maidan today.


Champs at work: The St Lawrence High School’s (Kandivli) U-16 football team goes through the paces during a training session in Kandivli recently. Pic/Nimesh Dave  

St Lawrence will face stiff resistance from former champions Don Bosco (Matunga) and last year's runners-up Bombay Scottish (Mahim). The defending champions realise that the pressure is on them. "Last year was a landmark year for us as we won the MSSA title when nobody expected us to win. I am aware that to defend the title will not be easy, but we will give our best and not think about results," St Lawrence's captain Chirag Das told mid-day recently.