Don Bosco (A) Matunga's midfielder and centre-forward score a brace each as defending champs thrash Don Bosco (A) Borivli 6-0 in opening U-16 Div I tie
Don Bosco Borivli's Ryan Reynolds (left) and Don Bosco Matunga’s Nihal Dudwadkar (right) battle for the ball during the MSSA U-16 Division I match at Azad Maidan yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
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Nihal Dudwadkar and Krishna Karkera scored a brace each as defending champions Don Bosco (A) Matunga kicked off their inaugural match of this year's Mumbai Schools Sports Association-organised under-16 Division I football tournament in style with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Don Bosco (A) Borivli at Azad Maidan yesterday.
Both teams found it difficult to control the wet ball as heavy rains continued to lash the city. Conditions notwithstanding, Don Bosco Matunga still played like champs and dominated the match from the start.
It took only 17 minutes for the Matunga outfit to open their account when midfielder Dudwadkar found the back of the net. Defender Sherwyn D'Souza struck the second goal in the 20th minute while striker Mannan Dang scored in the 26th minute. At half-time, Don Bosco Matunga were leading 3-0.
Bosco (Matunga) merciless
Switching sides, the situation was no different. Don Bosco Matunga continued the goal fest. Centre-forward Karkera rose to the occasion and scored his team's fourth goal. Dudwadkar, who was in splendid form, scored his second goal with a powerful volley. The chips were down for Don Bosco Borivli, but that didn't stop their counterparts from Matunga to strike the final nail in the coffin. Karkera found the net for the second time in the 50th minute to make it six for Don Bosco Matunga.
His goal was received by a thunderous applause from the Matunga dugout. Don Bosco Matunga coach Leslie Machado was thoroughly pleased with his side's performance. "We played very well. The standard of football has risen and one cannot under-estimate any other side in the tournament. Normally, we play short passes, but today we had to play long passes because of the ground conditions," Machado told mid-day.
Dudwadkar added: "We had planned our game well as we needed team work to score the goals. We set our combinations well and then scored. We were looking to attack all through the game and not play defensive at all."
St Mary's pip Navy Children
Earlier in the day, St Mary's ICSE (Mazgaon) defeated Navy Children School (Colaba) 3-1. Zaid Makani, Amav Aswani and Rahil Chopra scored a goal each for the Mazgaon side, while Darius Singh struck the lone goal for Navy Children. In another match, Campion School (Cooperage) emerged victorious defeating St Joseph (Wadala) 3-0.
Aryaan Majumdar, Pratnav Bongirwar and Aarzish Mugaseth scored for their side. In the final encounter of the day, Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) beat Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) 1-0. Ishant Tiwary scored the only goal of the match. Yuva Sena chief and Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) chairman, Aaditya Thackeray, who was the chief guest at the inauguration, said: "There is a lot of scope for young players playing many games through the MSSA. I love coming here to watch football as it holds pleasant memories for me. Enjoyment while playing the game is a key factor and that is what will take these kids ahead."
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