Inter-school Football: Bosco boys in final

Don Bosco’s Yohaan Panjuani opens his palms to celebrate with teammates after scoring v St Paul’s yesterday. Pic/Satej Shinde

Holders Don Bosco High School (Matunga) have moved a step closer towards their title defence. The fancied Matunga schoolboys overcame a dogged St Paul's High School (Dadar) 2-0 in the boys under-16 Division-I, second semi-final of the MSSA inter-school football tournament at the St Francis D'Assisi High School football ground, Borivli, on Monday.

The Don Bosco lads had to work extra hard to break down the packed St Paul's defence and after a barren first session, they managed to score twice through Ayush Kharat, 15, who converted a penalty in the first minute of the second half and later skipper Yohaan Panjuani, 15, firing in a direct 30-yard free-kick from the right flank to seal the win.

Don Bosco showing plenty of flair, started in an attacking fashion and were all over the rival territory. But, they were unable to break through the crowded St Paul's defence and went into the break without scoring a goal.

Ayush was overjoyed about playing his part in the victory. "We were determined to play for a win. It feels extremely cool to contribute to the win. I was fouled and insisted that I take the penalty as I was confident of scoring from the spot," Ayush told mid-day after the game.

In a repeat of last year's final, Bosco will clash with arch-rivals St Stanislaus HS (Bandra) later this month. "We now want to defeat St Stanislaus in the final as we are keen to complete a hat-trick by winning the MSSA title for the third consecutive year," the dashing forward added.

Other results at St Francis D'Assisi, Borivli

. Div-II-B: St Francis D'Assisi (Borivli) 2 (Avinash Kumtekar, Sego Kohli) bt Bombay Scottish School (Powai) 0.
. Div-III-D: SVKM International (Vile Parle) 3 (Maahir Shah 2, Maahir Zaveri) bt Ryan International School (Chembur) 0.
. Div-III-D: RN Podar School (Santacruz) 2 (Tanush Jena, Devang Sule) bt Campion School (Cooperage) 0.
. Div-III-E: St John the Baptist (Thane) 1 (Roldan D'Silva) bt Billabong International School (Malad) 0.