Loyola Cup: St Vincent’s u-14 team rout Hutchings to claim title

Kevin Chatterjee’s hat-trick sealed the final 4-0 for the winning side who beat their opponents in all the five games played in the tournament.

PUNE An utterly one-sided game in the under-14 final saw St Vincent’s High School rout Hutchings High School, 4-0, at the 7th Loyola Cup played at the Loyola gootball ground on Monday.

Players of St Vincent's (yellow) in action against Hutchings’ team during the U-14 final of the Loyola Cup at Loyola School, Pashan, on Monday. (MILIND SAURKAR/HT)

The u-14 Vincent’s side finished the tournament with a 100% success rate after nabbing five wins in five games. A splendid second-half hattrick from Kevin Chatterjee and a strike from Jaden Arland were enough to hand prolific Vincent’s the trophy. The two sides previously faced-off against each other in the group stage of the tournament. Hattrick hero Chatterjee bagged a brace in the group encounter as Vincent’s beat Hutchings 4-1.

First half

With Hutchings being labelled as the underdogs in the fixture, the first half got off to a very even and entertaining start. Both sides were playing with a high defensive line and pressing in the opposition half. Unsurprisingly, Vincent’s registered the first attack of the game when Kyle Mollen made a decent run from midfield and went for goal himself. The strike was just wide of goal as the Hutchings defense heaved a sigh of relief.

Unlike the previous encounter, Hutchings did not sit deep, allowing Vincent’s to launch a flurry of attacks. They swarmed forward and almost took the lead through striker Raj Pungalia. Pungalia’s mazing run saw him enter the box with ease, but was thwarted by defender Om Nikam. Nikam’s well timed challenge blocked Pungalia’s goal-bound shot.

Players of St Vincent’s U-14 category pose with medals and trophy after winning the 7th Loyola Cup played at Loyola football ground on Monday. (MILIND SAURKAR/HT)

The deadlock was broken just after the midway point of the first half in a very bizarre manner. Using the full width of the pitch, right-back Jaden Arland found himself completely unmarked on the right wing near the corner flag. Arland floated a hard-hit cross into the box with the outside of his right foot. Hutchings keeper, Atharva Chuttar, completely misjudged the swerving delivery as he came out to collect it. Chuttar was off his line and could not save it from landing inside the goal.

After conceding the silly goal, Hutchings were still able to prowl forward, causing concern to the Vincent’s midfield and defence. Failing to escape from the tight clutches of the defenders, Pungalia finally managed to escape his marker towards the end of the first half. The striker cut in from the left flank and was right in-front of goal, but he took too long to get his shot away and was eventually robbed by the defenders as Hutchings failed to draw level before the half-time whistle.

Second half

The second half got off to a flyer as Kevin Chatterjee got his name on the scoresheet in the first minute. Chatterjee received a perfectly timed pass inside the box and took the shot first time. As Hutchings inadvertently took their foot off the pedal, Vincent’s started launching successive attacks.

Eight minutes after scoring his first goal, Chatterjee prowled inside the box again. Chatterjee escaped the defenders and got the ball from the right flank. The striker took one touch and smashed his side’s third goal in, off a beautiful, well-controlled half-volley.

After the third goal, Hutchings launched a rare attack.

Hutchings’ substitute Keshav Mago found himself in acres of space when he received the ball at the edge of the box. However, the midfielder hesitated to shoot and ended up losing possession.

As Hutchings parked the bus, the ball flew into a crowded penalty area from the left flank and found its way through to Chatterjee. Chatterjee unleashed a powerful strike which hit the underside of the crossbar and landed beyond the goal-line, giving the young striker a well-deserved hattrick and also sealing a comfortable victory for St Vincent’s High School.

Hosts Loyola spoil Vincent’s clean-sweep

St Vincent’s made it to the final in all three categories - under-16, under-14, and under-12. While Vincent’s emerged victorious in the under-16 and under-14 categories, hosts Loyola High School beat Vincent’s 5-3 in the under-12 final to deny Vincent’s a clean-sweep of the tournament. Loyola’s Vedant Gupta bagged a hattrick, while a strike each from Ojas Patil and Shreyaj Manchoji helped the hosts to win in at least one category.

Loyola faced Vincent’s in the under-16 category as well. In-form attackers Fazal Shaikh and Hitesh Yadav got their names on the scoresheet inside eleven minutes as Vincent’s defended their lead for the remainder of the game and lifted the Loyola Cup in the under-16 category with a 2-0 victory.

After the game

“It feels absolutely amazing and I could not have done it without the teamwork. I always keep the team ahead of myself because without those accurate passes, I can never score goals. It has been a great tournament for all of our teams. The under-16 team was magnificent. It was unfortunate that the under-12 side lost, but they will get to try again next year.”

- Kevin Chatterjee, HT Player of the Match, St Vincent’s u-14.

Results: Finals

Under-16

St. Vincent’s High School 2 (Fazal Shaikh 6’, Hitesh Yadav 10’) bt Loyola High School 0

Under-14

St. Vincent’s High School 4 (Jaden Arland 17’, Kevin Chatterjee 31’, 39’, 41’) bt Hutchings High School 0

Under-12

Loyola High School 5 (Ojas Patil 3’, Vedant Gupta 14’, 21’, 38’, Shreyaj Manchoji 20’) bt St. Vincent’s High School 3 (Ahmed Parihar 2’, 15’, Amrut Mulay 23’)