Mumbai: Don Bosco (Matunga) have managed to add another feather in their cap as they have defeated Cathedral and John Connon 4-2 via penalty shootouts after a 1-1 draw in the final of the Ahmed Sailor Cup Boys U-16 tournament played at Cooperage football ground on Thursday.
With this win, Don Bosco boys have completed a trio of titles as they had also won the MSSA and DSO earlier this season.
Don Bosco opened the scoring with Arzaan Panathy’s 11th-minute goal which was assisted by Erol Noronnha from half-way. Two minutes later, Cathedral was awarded free-kick which was taken by Jaden Irani who hit almost on target before Don Bosco's goalkeeper Chris Johnson jumped high to tip off the ball through his fingers.
While the first half belonged to Don Bosco, they struggled to carry the momentum forward in the second half and Cathedral pushed hard and found the equaliser in the 43rd minute when Veer Subandh tricked and tackled the goalkeeper to score the goal. There was very little time for any of the teams to make a comeback from them, forcing the game into a tiebreaker.
Chris Johnson once again starred in the penalty round as he made a brilliant save off Agrim Solanki's shot by diving to his left to keep Don Bosco’s lead alive.
Finally, it was Scott Rodrigues, who scored the decisive goal in the fifth round to make the tally 4-2 and ensure Don Bosco clinch their third title this season after they won MSSA in July and DSO earlier this month.
It was a tough week for Don Bosco after they were knocked out in the DSO 1 semi-finals and managed to secure their third position this week in Kolhapur.
The winning captain Shriharsh Palli quoted “It was a hectic schedule as we came from Kolhapur two days before and we have been continuously playing matches and today (Thursday) we managed to win without are key players Aryan Jhunjhunwala and Gareen Shah.”
Meanwhile, St Paul’s Dadar won the third-place game after they thumped Bombay Scottish, Mahim 5-3 in the penalty shootouts. In the presentation ceremony Fifa Instructor Haroom Amur Al Bartmani was the present as the honourable chief guest and adviced the School children about giving their best in the field education and sports.
Bartmani also spoke to The Free Press Journal and expressed his love for the game and children, “I like to watch kids playing, like when I look at them today and see them in the next five years is a drastic transition and Football in India has improved a lot from the past” said the Fifa instructor.
Results
Boys U-16 (Ahmed Sailor Finals): Don Bosco, Matunga: 4 (Keith Fernandes, Vedant Sawant, Shriharsh Palli, Scott Rodrigues) bt (on penalties) Cathedral & John Connon: 2 (Jaden Irani, Abhibhav Dujodwala) ; (3rd position) St Paul's Dadar: 5 (Yash Nikalje, Dhruv Pawar, Tanmay Karekar, Smit Khandorkar, Atharva Rewale) bt (on penalties) Bombay Scottish. Mahim: (Shubhanshu Naik, Ryan Davar, Jadon Collins)
