Thakur triumph over arch-rivals Rizvi in 6-5 thriller

Thakur Junior College (Kandivli) edged out arch-rivals Rizvi College (Bandra) 6-5 via tie-breaker in the quarter-finals of the District Sports Office (DSO) suburban boys' U-17 Subroto Cup at St Francis D'Assisi ground, Borivli yesterday. The Bandra outfit had fielded a football team in the U-17 category after a decade

Thakur Junior College (Kandivli) edged out arch-rivals Rizvi College (Bandra) 6-5 via tie-breaker in the quarter-finals of the District Sports Office (DSO) suburban boys' U-17 Subroto Cup at St Francis D'Assisi ground, Borivli yesterday. The Bandra outfit had fielded a football team in the U-17 category after a decade.


Thakur Junior College's Suraj Yadav stops a Rizvi College player's spot-kick at the St Francis D'Assisi Ground. Pic/Nimesh Dave 

Meanwhile, the Kandivli side used three 'keepers in the match — Kashyab Joshi, who stood between the posts in regulation time; Harsh Rall, who came on the penalty shoot-out; and Suraj Yadav, who came on when the score was 3-3 in the tie-breaker.

In the tie-breaker, skipper Dawhoi Dhar, Harsh and Aniket Salunke were on target for the Kandivli side, while Bryce Miranda, Kishan Singh and Royesten Castiunho were on target for the Bandra outfit.

With both teams tied at 3-3, Thakur changed their goalkeeper with Suraj replacing Harsh. Prithvi Sawant, Himanshu Khose and Karan Patel found the back of the net for Thakur college, while only Rosenberg Gabriel and Rolden Castiunho were on target for the Bandra side.

The win was a huge one for the Kandivli team, as it is always the Rizvi outfit which have a slight edge over them.

Thakur college coach Monty Shelar was glad that they beat Rizvi, which had a lot of Don Bosco (Matunga) pass-outs. "When both teams play, it is always a keenly-contested tie with both teams having equal chances. Today's match was neck-to-neck till the last minute. I hope that if the boys continue to play like they did today, we can surely win the title this year," said Shelar.

Meanwhile, Rizvi coach Zakir Ali blamed poor refereeing for their loss. "There is no such rule that a referee stops a match because of spectators' comments. He did that thrice and our players lost focus. Also, DSO matches consist of 15-minute halves. For crucial matches like this, the time is too less," lamented Ali.

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