Abhishek stars for Don Bosco ‘B’ in win against Podar

Don Bosco High School ‘B' (Matunga) pulled off a tense 1-0 win over a spirited Podar International CBSE School (Powai) in a well-contested MSSA boys' U-16 Div-III Group ‘C' match at the St Francis D'Assisi High School ground, Borivli, on Wednesday.

Captain Abhishek Ahiwale, the spearhead in the Don Bosco attackline, played the lead role as he scored the lone goal to seal the win.

The Matunga school's second-string side encountered quite a challenge from the Powai schoolboys, who put up a fighting performance and did well to keep the Don Bosco strikers in check.

However, their resistance was finally broken in the sixth minute of second session when Bosco's industrious midfielder Vihaan Boddu with a measured through pass found Abhishek who was ideally positioned at the top of the rival box.

The dashing forward latched onto the ball and deftly dodged past the central defender before coolly slotting past goalkeeper Shaurya Sarogi. He then broke into wild celebrations with his teammates.

Earlier, Antonio DeSouza High School, Byculla also tasted success, getting the better of hosts St Francis D'Assisi High School ‘B', Borivali by a narrow 1-0 scoreline in a Group ‘A' encounter. The hero of Antonio DeSouza's win was striker Harith Athania, who scored the match-winning goal in the 33rd minute to break St Francis D'Assisi boys' hearts.

The day witnessed four matches which finished in goalless draws. St Lawrence HS (Borivli) and Thakur Public School (Kandivli) played out the first draw before Utpal Sanghvi Public School (Juhu) and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (Chembur) shared honours in a 0-0 draw.

Later, Sacred Heart (Santacruz) and Rajhans Vidyalaya (Andheri) were locked in a goalless stalemate while SVKM (Vile Parle) and RN Podar (Santacruz) saw both teams fail to score a single goal.