A stunning long-range strike from Aditya Batulware proved to be the difference as Cambridge International (Kandivli) edged past St Mary’s ICSE (Mazagon) 1-0 in a tense boys U-16 Pool ‘B’ Division I clash of the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament at Wings Sports Centre, Bandra, on Friday.
The victory sealed Cambridge’s place in the quarter-finals after a high-pressure encounter in which only a win would keep their campaign alive. The opening exchanges were closely contested before Batulware produced a spectacular 30-yard effort that curled into the top-left corner in the fifth minute. St Mary’s pushed forward in search of an equaliser. Skipper Arius Dadiburjor led from the front and tested the Cambridge defence, but failed to find a breakthrough.
St Francis’s Aryan Minj. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
The closest St Mary’s came was in the 34th minute, when Zakariya Motiwala found himself one-on-one with Cambridge goalkeeper Manveer Panchal, but lifted his effort over the crossbar, allowing Cambridge to secure their place in the last eight.
Meanwhile, a second -half brace from Aryan Minj guided St Francis D’Assisi High School ‘A’ (Borivli) to a 2-0 win over RN Podar School (Santacruz) in a boys U-16 Division II Group ‘E’ match at Azad Maidan recently.
St Francis was the more attacking of the two teams initially. However, RN Podar defended resolutely to keep it 0-0 at half-time.
After the break, Aryan Minj finished off a well-worked move with a calm strike into the bottom right corner in the 22nd minute. Aryan struck again in the 34th minute to seal the win.
