Four semi-finalists for the Royceton Gomes memorial football tournament emerged today at the beginning of the knock-out phase of the main draw – Islamiya high school, Phoenix public school, Bharatesh high school and St. Paul’s High School.
The first quarter-final match at 1:00 PM was played between Islamiya High School and Beynon Smith High School. The score for Islamiya opened early with Md Faizan Khan hitting a powerful shot that zoomed past the Beynon Smith goal-keeper in the 8th minute. Beynon Smith tried to step up their defence but Md Mustafa Skaikh managed to score the second goal for Islamiya in the 12th minute. The score at half time was 2 – 0. Islamiya continued to put pressure on Beynon Smith in the second half and Md Mustafa Shaikh managed to score the third goal and his hat-trick goal in the 31st and 41st minutes. Islamiya won the match 4 – 0.
royThe second quarter-final match at 2:00 PM was played between Dnyan Prabodhan Mandir School and Phoenix Public School. Phoenix Public started the match with a bang with ace-striker Nivarutti Pavanoji scoring a goal in the 3rd minute. Dnyan Prabodhan played well and got numerous chances to score but lacked the finishing touch. Phoenix Public did not lose any scoring opportunities and had their shots on target that helped Nivarutti Pavanoji score the second goal for Phoenix Public in the 19th minute. The score at half time was 2 – 0. In the second half, Dnyan Prabodhan stepped up their game and took good shots but they were unable to convert any of them. They maintained a good defence line and did not allow any more goals in the second half. However, Phoenix Public won the match 2 – 0.
The third quarter-final match at 3:00 PM was played between Lovedale Central School and Bharatesh High School. The match began by Yash Halappanavar of Lovedale getting a lucky break through a free-kick taken from the top of the ‘D’ that placed the ball neatly into the nets avoiding the human wall covering the goal in the 7th minute. Even though Bharatesh tried hard to equalize, the first half ended 1 – 0 with Lovedale in the lead. In the second half, Bharatesh seemed to enter the field with grit and determination as Allabaksh Takkewale equalized the score in the early minutes of the second half. With added excitement and determination, Siddique Baig managed to score the second goal for Bharatesh in the 33rd minute. Even though Lovedale tried hard to score, Bharatesh won the match 2 – 1.
The fourth quarter-final match at 4:00 PM was played between Marathi Vidyaniketan and St. Paul’s High School. The match began with both schools playing extremely well. The match was well balanced with the ball in each other’s side equally. However, in the 16th minute, Aryan Nipannikar of St. Paul’s took a well directed shot and opened the score of the match. Marathi Vidyaniketan stepped up their game and put pressure on St. Paul’s, but no more goals were scored in the first half. In the second half, St. Paul’s continued their efforts to score and in the 35th minute, Md Hanzala Pathan scored the second goal for St. Paul’s. Even though Marathi Vidyaniketan tried hard to score, St. Paul’s won the match 2 – 0.
SEMI-FINALS – August 5, 2017
2:00 PM – Islamiya High School vs. St. Paul’s High School
3:30 PM – Phoenix Public School vs. Bharatesh High School
All matches are on Phoenix English Medium School, Nehru Nagar.