Striker-turned-goalie Crystal Blakely guides Carmel of St Joseph School girls to U-16 title beating Andheri-based Canossa School 5-4 on penalties.
After their boys qualified for the U-16 MSSA-Nike football tournament final on penalties, now Carmel of St Joseph School girls bagged the eves’ trophy beating Canossa School 5-4 via a shootout at the Azad Maidan on Wednesday.
Striker-turned-goalkeeper Crystal Blakely managed to stop two penalties to hand Andheri-based Canossa School a 5-4 defeat.
The final actually offered the opportunity to witness a match between two team displaying different styles. For a little bit more than 40 minutes, Carmel girls showed how tough they could be on the pitch while Canossa team tried to win the battle on technique.
Carmel top player Crystal Blakely disturbed Canossa’s defense on many occasions but didn’t succeed in scoring. They could have won the tussle even in the regulation time had captain Andriete Rodrigues’s shot went in, instead of hitting the crosspiece.
Canossa girls, while counter-attacking, also had their share of chances too. But striker Renuka Juvekar squandered that. Renuka, Canossa top-scorer, who guided her team to the final, missed her last chance during the penalty session. She saw her shot stopped by goalkeeper Blakely at ease.
Asked whether the winners are penalty specialists, Carmel Coach Moinul Haque answered: “Somebody has to score in this game. We only have to wait until the penalties to do it. That’s it.”
The striker-turned-goalie was more than happy to have bailed the team out during the penalties. “Yes I’m a striker but I’m pretty used to wearing the gloves when it comes to penalty session. It didn’t bother me at all,” explained Crystal at the end of the game.
Results: G U-16 (Final): Carmel of St Joseph (Malad) 5 (Andriete Rodrigues 1, Zinnia Gama 1, Gale Kakad 1, Crystal Blakely 1, Vidhi Kothari 1) beat via tie-breaker Canossa School (Andheri) 4 (Brinell Monteiro 1, Zenia Fernandes 1, Nidhi Kotian 1, Shirley Pinto 1) (Full Time: 0-0); 3rd Place: Dhirubhai Ambani (BKC) 3 (L Poonawala 1, T Pandey 1, P Shroff 1) beat Cathedral & John Connon (Fort) 0
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