St Antonio D'Silva HS striker excels as a goalkeeper to guide his team to Division III title win
When St Antonio D'Silva High School (Byculla) took the field for their MSSA U-16 Division III title clash against Cambridge School (Kandivli), they had only one strategy — pass the ball to their star striker, Kamran Ansari.
Before the final, Ansari had scored a mind-boggling 22 goals from six games, and so naturally his side was dependent on his goal-scoring prowess to give them the coveted trophy. But as it turned out, it was Ansari's goal-keeping skills that ultimately won them the title.
The game had to be decided via penalty shootout after neither team managed to find the net during normal time. The 14-year-old Ansari wanted to make amends for missing a couple of chances during the game, and so asked his coach, Sajid Sabir, if he could man the citadel. Sabir agreed and his decision proved fruitful as Ansari saved two goals to help his team win 3-0.
"He's (Ansari) a very confident player. Being a goalkeeper during a penalty shootout requires confidence. So I allowed him. I'm glad he lived up to my faith in him," said an estatic Sabir.
While his teammates were celebrating the win, Ansari was rather quiet for a person who has helped his team win the title.
"I missed too many chances during the game. I should have scored at least three," he said.
And scoring three goals in a game had become some sort of a habit for the lad from Madanpura. Until the final, he's scored a hat-trick in each of his games, even scoring a double hat-trick in one.
The opposition knew that if they were to stand a chance against the Byculla outfit, they had to contain Ansari. And, the team from Kandivli, coached by former India international Shamshy Raza, ensured that Ansari had no breathing space. Two players were constantly marking him and whenever he tried to run past the defenders, he was brought down, and smartly, just outside the box.
"I can't even count the number of times I was fouled. Whenever I got the ball, they were three players coming to tackle me. Thankfully their tackles were not dangerous or I would've been injured surely," said Ansari.
Being the main player in the match doesn't put him under pressure any more. After all, he's used to being the talisman for whichever team his plays. His exploits in front of the goal have earned him a spot in the Mumbai and Maharashtra teams. He has represented Maharashtra from his Under-12 days.
He also made the 45-member probables list for the Under-17 World Cup in 2017. For the record, he was the only player from Mumbai on that sheet.
As for his immediate goals, he said: "Firstly, the AIFF is going to have another round of selections in September to choose people for the U-17 World Cup. It's my dad's dream to see me be a part of that team. I can't let him down. The only thing I think about is making my dad proud," he said.
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