Don Bosco A (Matunga) lifted the U-16 MSSA Inter-school football crown on Friday. In a match against their traditional rivals St Stanislaus.
Don Bosco A (Matunga) lifted the U-16 MSSA Inter-school football crown on Friday. In a match against their traditional rivals St Stanislaus (Bandra), Bosco sealed the title by scoring two goals in the opening 10 minutes at the MSSA grounds.
Bosco thus emerged champions after a two-year lull. From 2003-2006, no one came in their way to the title but Jamnabai Narsee broke their monopoly in 2007, followed by Stanislaus in 2008.
Bosco coach Leslie Machado was surprised at the way his wards dominated the defending champions. “I was surprised the way they (Stanislaus) gave in, not that my boys didn’t play well. But Stanislaus looked lost after our initial outburst,” he said.
Stanislaus coach Jubal Solomon agreed.The first goal came almost from nowhere. An ordinary free-kick from Brandon Gonsalves got deflected by Arshad Khan in the right corner at such an angle that Stanislaus goalkeeper Sheldon Raghuwan could only bang his head on the pole. The ball rolled in. Scott D’Souza doubled Bosco’s tally with a header within the next two minutes.
Machado said his bench made the difference.“We had 18 fit players in the squad and if any player was injured the replacement always made the difference.”
SwansongBut amid the victory celebrations, four of Bosco’s key players were downcast. This was the last time Girik Khosla, Elwin Vaz, Vineet Noronha and Andon D’Souza would represent their school.
“It’s definitely not a good feeling to win for the last time ever for Bosco,” said Khosla. All four have won the MSSA title in four age categories till now. They have been a part of the winning U-8, U-12, U-14 and the U-16 squad. The quartet will sorely be missed. “All four have made us proud,” said Machado.
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