Carmel of St Joseph stun Duruelo Convent

Malad girls beat last year's winners 2-1 in the final of the U-16 Panchgani Old Boys Cup

Carmel of St Joseph (Malad) beat defending champions Duruelo Convent (Bandra) 2-1 to lift the girls U-16 Panchgani Old Boys Cup hockey title at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium, Churchgate on Saturday.


Carmel of St Joseph players celebrate after winning the MSSA U-16 inter-school hockey event at MHA-Mahindra Stadium. Pic/Atul Kamble 

In the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA)-organised tournament, Lynette Lobo converted a penalty corner to give the Malad team the lead in the 17th minute.

The Bandra side, however, took control of the game and equalised via a Vaishnavi Rane field goal in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Carmel of St Joseph's Chryshelle Fernandes scored a brilliant field goal from an acute angle to hand the Malad school the inter-school title.

Unity is strength
Carmel scorer Lynette credited the team's unity for the win. "Last year we had two fractions in our team and we lost to Duruelo in the final. This year our new coach, former international Paulina Surin, ensured that we all play together as one unit. That helped us win."

The Malad team's Chryshelle felt that now they can pass out from school with pride. "Most of the team comprises of players who are in Class X. We lost to them (Duruelo) in the final last year and also in the DSO-organised Nehru Cup this year. We couldn't have asked for a better win than this."

Meanwhile, Duruelo coach Happy Mann blamed fatigue for the loss. In the boys U-16 MSSA Ahmed Sailor final, Don Bosco (Matunga) defeated Children's Academy (Malad) thanks to Mihir Patil's goal in the 32nd minute.

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