E-Paper
Loyola Cup: Vidya Valley drub Infant Jesus high school
With a bevy of attacking talent, VVS saw six players getting their names on the scoresheet
Pune Playing with vigour and maintaining the coordination throughout the game, Vidya Valley School (VVS) netted three goals in each half to thump Infant Jesus high school 6-1 in their Group B encounter of the 7th Loyola Cup at the Loyola football ground on Friday. With a bevy of attacking talent, VVS saw six players getting their names on the scoresheet. The side conceded the first goal of the match, but went on to dominate the remainder of the game.
First half
The attacking prowess of VVS was evident from the first minute of the game. Deploying a simple 4-4-2 formation, the midfield pushed forward to support the two centre forwards. The high front press, however, left a gap between the defence and midfield, which Infant Jesus tried to exploit. The Infant Jesus defence was able to deflect several attacks on goal and tried to build momentum through counter-attacks.
After a flurry of attacks from VVS, Infant Jesus finally managed to enter their opponent’s half. Infant Jesus’ midfielder Swaraj Bhoir found himself in a good position near the edge of the VVS penalty area, but the youngster’s tame effort was easily collected by the keeper. VVS were hit by another wave of Infant Jesus’ attack, but their midfield was quick to drop back and assist their defenders.
The first corner of the game was surprisingly won by Infant Jesus. Winger Atharva Khaire whipped an out-swinging corner into the box and striker Sarang Gawade rose the highest to nod the ball in at the near post, giving Infant Jesus an unexpected lead in the 12th minute. Two minutes after the goal, VVS skipper Abhiram Girgaonkar levelled the tie after he managed to get past the Infant Jesus defence and side-footed his effort into the bottom-right corner.
Four minutes after conceding the first goal, VVS took the lead through an extraordinary effort from midfielder Aditya Chavan. Aditya received the ball near the centre circle and spotted the Infant Jesus keeper way off his line. The youngster hit a dipping shot that flew over the extended hands of the goalkeeper and landed inside the goal to complete the turnaround.
Infant Jesus were gifted an opportunity to draw level when a stray midfield pass ended up at the feet of Atharva, who was through on goal. However, Atharva was outpaced by VVS defender Anshul Natekar, who was able to track back and thwart the attack. Infant Jesus were punished for their complacency four minutes before half time as VVS winger Aarush Biswas cut in from the right flank, dribbled past slow defenders and calmly slotted in his team’s third goal of the match.
Second half
Overcoming a two-goal deficit seemed difficult for the Infant Jesus side in the second half. A minute into the second half, VVS launched an attack down the left flank as the ball eventually ended up with Ameya Varade who buried his effort into the back of the net only to see his goal disallowed after the linesman flagged the striker for being in an offside position. Shortly after the incident, Infant Jesus keeper Himanshu Bhist produced a brilliant save to deny Aditya his second goal of the day.
The VVS strikers finally got in on the act ten minutes into the second half as striker Snehil Kumar found himself at the end of a well-hit free-kick and made no mistake in converting his opportunity inside a crowded penalty area. Three minutes later, Aditya played a brilliant ball from midfield towards Adit Padhye. Adit held his run and managed to skip the offside trap, leaving the Infant Jesus defence on the wrong foot and rolled the ball past a helpless keeper.
Keeper Himanshu tried sparing his side’s blushes after producing four decent saves, to prevent the scoreline from getting more embarrassing. However, Himanshu was unable to get his gloves on the last goal-bound effort of the game, which came through VVS defender Anshul. While Infant Jesus defenders were busy marking VVS attackers, Anshul found himself completely unmarked at the edge of the box before curling in the final goal of the game, two minutes from time.
“This victory is really special because we lost against them [Infant Jesus] in September this year. I believe they had a psychological advantage in the beginning which is why they were able to score the first goal of the match, but thankfully, we built the momentum and ended up scoring 6 goals. Having six different goal scorers, including one from a defender, is wonderful. It showcases our team spirit and unselfish gameplay.”
Abhiram Girgaonkar, captain, Vidya Valley School
“We drew our first match of the tournament which was winnable because we had a lot of chances. Building up from that result, we possessed the desire to win today. Having so many different players on the scoresheet proves that it was a must win game for us because we will be without a couple of key players in the next game because of their vacations. My favourite moment of the match was when [Aditya] Chavan spotted the keeper off his line and scored from long-range.”
Ajay Dethe, coach, Vidya Valley School
Results (Matchday 4)
Under-12
Vidya Valley School 2 (Shaunak Chouta 30’, 31’) bt Infant Jesus High School 0
Loyola High School 7 (Sheryas 1’, 5’, Darsh 7’, Samyak 11’, Vedant 12’, 28’, Arhan 32’) bt SSPMS (B) 0
Under-14
Vidya Valley School 5 (Aryaman Hatkar 4’, Aryan Suryavanshi 15’, Siddharth Sankholkar 20’, Varun Awate 31’, Aarush Kavishwar 32’) bt Infant Jesus High School 0
Loyola High School 6 (Brian D’Souza 16’, Rajwardhan Patil 20’, 43’, 49’, Dhruv Sharma 22’, Austin Allapatt 26’) bt SSPMS (B) 0
Under-16
Vidya Valley School 6 (Abhiram Girgaonkar 14’, Aditya Chavan 16’, Aarush Biswas 26’, Snehil Kumar 40’, Adit Padhye 43’, Anshul Natekar 58’) bt Infant Jesus High School 1 (Sarang Gawade 12’)
Loyola High School 5 (Aditya Pawar 3’, 27’, Ranapratap Deshmukh 15’, 40’, Akshat Dadoo 48’) bt SSPMS (B) 0
