Holy Cross girls edge out Apostolic Carmel 2-1

Holy Cross goalscorer Fleur Gomes (left) in a tussle with Apostolic Carmel’s Gabbriela Misquitta in Borivli yesterday. Pic/Satej Shinde

With goals on either side of half-time, Holy Cross Convent (Mira Road) beat Apostolic Carmel (Bandra) 2-1 in the girls under-16 second division playoff of the MSSA inter-school football tournament at St Francis D'Assisi ground, Borivli, on Monday.

By virtue of this well-deserved victory, Holy Cross, who found their goals through captain Fleur Gomes and Giselle D'Souza in the afternoon fixture, booked their place in the quarter-finals, where they will meet Don Bosco International (Matunga).

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Holy Cross made a dream start to the proceedings, taking the lead in the third minute when Fleur executed a composed side-footed finish inside the box to find the bottom corner after receiving a square pass from Trisha Shetty.

Holy Cross continued to dominate possession as they looked to extend their lead. However, against the run of play, Apostolic Carmel equalised in the closing stages of the first half when an unmarked Cassandra D'Mello tapped home following a flag-kick by Adelia Picardo from the right.

Undeterred by the equaliser, Holy Cross once again secured the lead through Giselle early in the second half. She executed a neat finish to complement the work done by teammate Ame Monteiro down the right.

Earlier, in another playoff encounter, Army School (Colaba) recorded a 1-0 win over Billabong International (Mulund). Shikha Kumari scored with a left-footed strike at the stroke of half-time.