Riding high on skipper Manyata Chavan’s brace, Canossa High School (Mahim) clinched their maiden girls U-12 Division-II title with a 2-0 win over BD Somani (Cuffe Parade) in the Dreams Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school football tournament at Azad Maidan on Friday.
Canossa struck early, with Manyata opening the scoring in the very first minute through a free-kick that curled into the right corner. Just two minutes later, the prolific forward doubled the lead, smashing one in from the right flank from outside the box to put her team 2-0 up before half-time. After the break, BD Somani returned with renewed energy, but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted by Canossa’s disciplined defence, as the Mahim outfit held firm to close out a memorable victory.
This season marked Canossa’s debut in the U-12 category, making this title triumph even sweeter. “We’ve always performed well in the U-14 and U-16 category, but could never field a U-12 team before. Despite limited access to a proper ground, we managed to practice on concrete this time,” said coach Elson Anthony.
Meanwhile, JB Petit (Fort) secured third place, beating SVKM (Vile Parle) 3-2 via tie-breaker. Anouska Oak, Shanaya Vajifdar and Nayantara Nalinakshar scored for JB Petit, while Sakshara Desai and Gyananya Gala were on target for SVKM.
