Coachless OLPS win against all odds

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, (Chembur) earned their first win in the U-16 Nike MSSA inter-school football tournament yesterday against all odds.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, (Chembur) earned their first win in the U-16 Nike MSSA inter-school football tournament yesterday against all odds.

Travelling from Chembur, a distant suburb, amid the heavy downpour that lashed across the city, they were forced to leave three hours early to make it on time for their match against Navy Children (Colaba) at Azad Maidan.

Add to this the fact that they were not even sure if their match would take place, given that the day's previous ties were abandoned due to unplayable ground conditions, this makes their 1-0 win even more special.
The youngsters had to wade through knee-deep water in Chembur but somehow made it on time for the Division II tie.

OLPS don't even have a coach. And it was this reason that they had to withdraw last year which led to them being demoted from Division I to II. OLPS' physical education teacher K Ramdas accompanies them for their matches. "We are trying to support these boys as much as possible. I don't know too much about football but they kids have a lot of passion and that's the reason they are here despite all the problems," Ramdas said.u00a0

OLPS won thanks to a strike from skipper Derrick Joseph. In fact OLPS owe a lot more to Joseph. Having represented the junior teams of Mahindra United and Mumbai FC, and currently playing for Kenkre Academy, it is Joseph who trains the team. "Since I have a little more experience than the others having played for some clubs, I try to teach my teammates whatever little I know," he said, hoping his mates continue the good work.

Results
B-U-16-I I-D: St Joseph (Wadala) 2 (Stallon S, D Jigar) bt St Paul's 0; B-U-16-III-C: Smt VD Gardi (Mulund) 1 (Pratik B) bt Jamnabai Narsee 'B' 0; B-U-16-II-B: St Joseph (Malad) 3 (Sagar P 2, K Mendes) bt St Lawrence (Borivali) 0; B-U-16-II-B: St Aloysius (Bandra) 2 (J Godfrey, K Sharukh) bt St John the Evangelist 1 (H Rishikesh)

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