It’s twice as nice! Yohan Britto nets a brace

St Stanislaus striker Yohan Britto (centre) controls the ball during their MSSA U-16 Div-I encounter against St Joseph’s High School (Wadala) at St Francis D’Assisi ground, Borivli, yesterday. Pic/Satej Shinde

Opportunistic striker Yohan Britto struck two quick goals in the final 10 minutes to help last year's runners-up St Stanislaus High School (Bandra) rally to a 2-1 victory over promoted side St Joseph's High School (Wadala) in an absorbing MSSA boys U-16 Div-I Group ‘D' match at the St Francis D'Assisi High School ground, Borivli, on Wednesday.

Against the run of play, the Wadala school lads took the lead in the 19th minute from a swift counter. Energetic attacking midfielder Bryan Koli split the rival defence with a precise pass to put teammate Kishor Thakulla in the clear. The latter controlled the ball before slotting past an onrushing Stanislaus goalkeeper Jordan Kamble.

The Bandra side, who began aggressively, missed at least two initial chances early in the first half when Yohan's feeble left-footed attempts from close were off target. However, he made amends in the second half by brilliantly scoring the equaliser in the 40th minute. Yohan timed his run perfectly to meet teammate Elijah Fernandes's cross from the right with an on-the-run volley that beat St Joseph's goalkeeper Shradull Mandare all ends up.

Five minutes later, left half Jordan Desmond created Stanislaus's second goal. Jordan made a long run down the flank before cutting into the box. His low shot bounced off a defender and came to Yohan, who quickly dispatched the ball into the back of the net much to the joy and relief of his teammates and coach Roy Fernandes.

Earlier, Christ Church School (Byculla) snatched a narrow 1-0 win over St Lawrence High School (Kandivli) in another Group ‘D' encounter. Striker Aliqasim Lokhandwala latched onto a deflection from a rival defender and made no mistake, scoring the match-winner in the 19th minute.