St Mary's SSC hold the edge in teenage battle of equals

St Mary's captain Moksh Surve (left) and Dominic Savio skipper Duane D'Souza

Moksh Surve, captain of St Mary's SSC (Mazgaon) has thrown down the gauntlet to his counterpart Duane D'Souza of Dominic Savio ahead of their MSSA boys' U-16 Div I final at Azad Maidan today. "We are favourites to win the title and no one is going to stop us. Defeating oft-crowned and last year's champs Don Bosco [Matunga] in the quarter-finals has boosted our confidence," an upbeat Moksh told mid-day on the eve of the big game.

Dominic Savio skipper Duane D'Souza, 14, is equally confident. "We are a well-balanced unit and have good players in every department. Our players will work extra hard to win this one," he said.

Both schools have similar playing styles. Moksh, Shane Aranha and Athar Ansari are St Mary's midfield mainstays, with tall centre backs Atharva Bamane and Mourwin Maru. The Dominic Savio attack is spearheaded by Chris Braganza and Gerald Barretto, with Duane, Pranit Vyas and Sahil Pawar in midfield.

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