18 October,2016 08:08 AM IST | | Narendra Sastry
Don Bosco's striker Mannan registers brace as Matunga side beat Jamnabai Narsee School 2-0 to clinch MSSA Ahmed Sailor U-16 football title
Don Bosco players pose with the trophy after winning the MSSA Ahmed Sailor U-16 title at Cooperage yesterday. Pics/Shadab Khan
Don Bosco players pose with the trophy after winning the MSSA Ahmed Sailor U-16 title at Cooperage yesterday. Pics/Shadab Khan
Don Bosco (Matunga) clinched the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) Ahmed Sailor U-16 inter-school football title after a gap of two years. Striker Mannan Dang was the star as his brace helped Bosco defeat Jamnabai Narsee School (Juhu) 2-0 at Cooperage ground yesterday.
Don Bosco were never in doubt as they swept aside the Juhu outfit. They had also won the MSSA U-16 League- cum-knockout tournament in August.
Bosco striker Mannan Dang
In the opening exchanges, there was not much to separate the two sides. But as the game progressed, Don Bosco slowly gained momentum as Rajin Mehta started to pull strings in the midfield. He brilliantly put through Aryan Hukumchand, but his shot went wide. Despite having less of the ball, Jamnabai created their own chances but couldn't convert them.
Jamnabai pay for mistakes
In the second half, Jamnabai had a golden chance to break the deadlock as Karan Dhanda found himself in a promising position with just the keeper to beat but his chip went just over. Jamnabai were made to pay, as few moments later, in the 34th minute, Mannan scraped the ball into the net via an Aryan corner to give Bosco the lead.
Jamnabai had another glorious chance to restore parity but Arjun Singh put his header wide. Bosco continued to create chances and converted one of them when Mannan latched onto Atharva Jagtap's through pass and finished it brilliantly to put the game out of sight. Mannan has made a habit of scoring in the finals.
Mannan's previous exploits
He had also scored the equaliser against St Stanislaus (Bandra) in the MSSA U-16 League-cum-knockout tournament to help the side win it. Mannan was happy with the goals but feels it is the contribution that matters rather than the goals.
"I am really happy that we won and could score goals. But I like to play for the team rather than myself," Mannan told mid-day.
