7th Loyola Cup: Vincent’s confirm semis berth in all categories

Under-14 encounter between Vincent’s and Petit was a roller coaster ride during which Petit almost managed to end their opponent’s winning run in the tournament

The group stage of the 7th Loyola Cup ended with a captivating encounter between St Vincent’s High School and JN Petit High School at the Loyola football ground on Sunday.

Players of St Vincent's (in yellow) in action against players from JN Petit during the U - 16 Loyola football cup at Loyola School, Pashan on Sunday. (Milind Saurkar/HT Photo)

In a tournament which houses three categories - under-12, under-14, and under-16, Vincent’s are now the only team in the tournament to win all their games and cement the top spot in all three categories.

The under-14 encounter between Vincent’s and Petit was a roller coaster ride during which Petit almost managed to end their opponent’s winning run in the tournament. However, after trailing twice in an enthralling game, Petit were able to nick a 3-2 victory. After the conclusion of the group phase, the semi-finals of the tournament will be played on January 3, 2020.

First half

Unlike their previous games, Vincent’s got off to a slow and sloppy start which allowed Petit to launch three early attacks in the opening minutes of the match. The Petit efforts were parried away by the alert Vincent’s defence. Vincent’s were finally able to launch an attack as they used the full width of the pitch and relied on their wingers to launch attacks. Coming down the wing, Vincent’s attacks were dealt with by the quick and physical Petit defence.

After the first five minutes, the clash got a tad cagey as the ball was being rolled around in the midfield with neither side willing to take a risk which will allow their opponent to break on the counter. Vincent’s were a tad poor with the passing in their own half and were eventually punished for the complacency in the 19th minute, when Mehendi Awari exploited the defence and broke the deadlock after a Vincent’s pass was intercepted in the midfield.

The attacking prowess seen in Vincent’s earlier in the tournament was missing against Petit, but somehow the team recovered and struck back just five minutes after they conceded the opener. After a clumsy challenge by a Petit defender in the box, Vincent’s were awarded a penalty. DM Nikam stood over the ball and made no mistake in converting from the spot as Vincent’s equalised at the stroke of half-time.

Second half

Midway through the game, the tempo completely changed in the second half. The game which was cagey in the first half, was now completely open and both sides were on the attack, looking for a goal which could prove to be the killer blow. Two minutes into the second half, Vincent’s were caught napping yet again as Yazdan Wadia skipped past the Vincent’s back-line and buried his effort in the goal to give Petit the lead again.

After taking the lead again, Petit did not take their foot off the pedal. However, by committing more players up front, they left their defence exposed. In an effort to exploit the vulnerable defence, Vincent’s started playing on the front foot. The initial attacks were dealt with brilliantly by Petit, but eventually the barrage of Vincent’s attacks became too hot to handle for the Petit defence. Parity was restored for the second time in the game, in the 35th minute courtesy of Shawn Perera’s accurate effort.

Just two minutes after the leveller, before Petit could prowl forward in search of another goal, Krishna Patel was able to escape his marker and carefully placed his shot into the back of the net to give Vincent’s the lead for the first time in the game. With little time left on the clock, Petit launched a few desperate attacks, but were let down with the scrappy passes in the final third, before the full-time whistle was blown.

QUOTES

“We played a little casually today and committed a few errors which allowed them to score two easy goals. We failed to press the opponents back into their own half in the first half, but we recovered well to score three crucial goals. I am happy with the win, but we definitely need to work on our game.”

- Jayden, captain, St Vincent’s High School (u-14)

“Matches against Petit are always great. They are a great team comprising players who are mentally and physically strong. In this game, we got off to a poor start and the only reason we won today was because of the grit and determination of the boys. The recovery in the second half was amazing and that is reflected in the final score.”

- Ranil Gaikwad, coach, St Vincent’s High School

Results - Matchday 6

Under-16

St. Vincent’s High School 2 (Royden George 1’, 2’) bt JN Petit High School 0

Vidya Valley High School 8 (Abhiram Girgaonkar 3’, 27’, Adit Padhye 8’, 22’, 56’, Aditya Chavan 43’, Snehil Kumar 50’, Aarush Biswas 54’) bt SSPMS Boarding School 1 (Uchche Jai 36’)

Under-14

St. Vincent’s High School 3 (DM Nikam 24’ pen, Shawn Perera 35’, Krishna Patel 37’) bt JN Petit High School 2 (Mehendi Awari 19’, Yazdan Wadia 27’)

Vidya Valley High School 6 (Varun Awate 8’, Aryan Suryawanshi 10’, 12’, 23’, 27’, Tanush Abhyankar 42’) bt SSPMS Boarding School 2 (Prajot Hemadi 5’, Nagesh Mundhe 20’)

Under-12

St. Vincent’s High School 2 (Parth Raut 30’, Hitesh Yadav 42’) bt JN Petit High School 0

Vidya Valley High School 4 (Atharv Singh 4’, 13’, Arsh Shelke 15’, Nimesh Pathak 40’) bt SSPMS Boarding School 1 (Khushal Ahire 23’)