Ira Sridhar’s opening goal guides her school to maiden win in the MSSA tournament.
Ira Sridhar scored the opening goal for Bombay International this season, thereby guiding her school to their first win against JB Petit in the MSSA inter-school tournament held at Azad Maidan on Monday.
After a draw in their first game against Aditya Birla World and forfeiting another group match, the Babulnath School were in a must-win situation to qualify for the next round. The 35th minute strike by Ira gave her school a fresh lease of life.
Ira found herself in a perfect position when her teammate and defender Kanika Basu gave her a brilliant pass. The 15-year-old, who was standing near the goal post, finished the ball perfectly sending it to the back of the net.
“I just got lucky today. It was due to Kanika’s efforts that I managed to score,” Ira said after the match. “Moreover, we were motivated to win today as this was a crucial match for us.”
Playing her first season in the under-16 category, Ira said that it was the love for her school and the team work put together that helped her perform better.
The Class X student, who is also an athlete, said that being a runner helped her in playing better football as it gave her the required stamina and strength on the field. In another match, AVM (Bandra) qualified for the next round with their third consecutive win of the tournament, beating Aditya Birla World 1-0.
The game started on a low note with both teams struggling to pass the ball. After a goalless first half, AVM were back in their usual form and dominated the proceedings. Birla World failed to put up a good fight in the latter half that cost them the game.
AVM’s left forward Tara Naik found the back of the net once but was ruled offside. The Bandra girls, however, did not lose heart and tried hard to score at every opportunity.
After missing a number of chances, their right forward Ishita Chhabria was finally successful in converting a pass, given to her by Aarati Divanji into a goal. It took her tally to two goals in the tournament.
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