With their backs against the wall and playing for their tournament lives, GEMS New Millennium School Al Khail rose to the occasion and delivered when it mattered most in the Emirates Islamic National School League last weekend.
The Under-14 squad fought back from a 2-1 second-half deficit to defeat Delhi Private School Dubai 3-2, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive.
Ankit Karangutkar earned man-of-the-match honours for his two assists, while Saral Kapadia was the hero with the game-winner.
The victory for GEMS New Millennium was their third in a row and though a defeat wouldn’t have mathematically eliminated them from knockout contention, a win was key nonetheless considering their strong competition in the
“They’ve started to really play some professional football now,” said coach Ajish Joseph. “The team has nice coordination. We’re a new school also, but this was the best match we’ve played so far in this tournament.”
The score was tied at one apiece at halftime, but Delhi Private School Dubai struck first in the second half. Despite having shots stopped by the goalkeeper, including a diving save to deflect the ball off the crossbar, GEMS New Millennium finally broke through to even the match.
Kapadia then scored a peach of a goal in which he beat the defender and crossed up the goalkeeper to slot home an easy finish, essentially saving his school’s prospects.
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“That was an amazing, professional goal,” Joseph said. “We were so happy. It was our day.”
In the same group, Salman Farsi School and Wellington International School came through with clean-sheet victories to remain right behind Lycee Francais International Georges Pompidou in the table. Salman Farsi, however,
extended their goal difference advantage over Wellington by defeating The Indian High School 7-0.
Man of the match Maitham Ghafori was one of three players to record a brace and assist each, powering the school to their fifth win in six contests.
“He’s the captain of the team and feels good today,” coach Mohammad Rahmatollah said of Ghafori. “We usually keep the captain in the defence to push the team forward. Today, Maitham became man of the match and scored two goals so it was beautiful.”
As long as they don’t drop another game, Salman Farsi look in a good position to advance to the knockout stage, thanks to their plus-33 goal difference – the best in the group.
“We still need to improve in areas and are not 100 per cent ready, but our confidence is ready,” Rahmatollah said. “We just need to work a bit more.”
After falling to Salman Farsi last week, Wellington kept pace with the Iranian school in terms of record, topping Springdales School 4-0.
Wellington bounced back and registered goals from four different players to regain their sharpness.
More goals would have helped their cause, but Wellington are aiming for what they can control and that includes a potential group-deciding meeting with LFI Georges Pompidou in two weeks.
Raza said: “Each game we play until we play LFI, four or five goals will help our goal difference.”
In Under-16, Delhi Private School Sharjah used a barrage of early goals to beat St. Mary’s Catholic High School Fujairah 3-1.
Suhaib Nadeem scored twice, while Kashish Chandnani added the other to push the school to their fourth win and third straight.
Meanwhile, Al Salaf Al Saleh Private School’s U14 squad sprung to life in the second half to net all of their goals after the break in a 3-1 victory over Delhi Private School Sharjah, with Tayseer Merei Al Saadi scoring twice.
