Brazil boys cruise into final
Colegio Estadul Santo Antonio expectedly entered the Under- 17 boys final of the 55th Subroto Cup schools football tournament, beating Ragunan Sports School of Jakarta ( Indonesia), 3- 1 in their semi- final at the Ambedkar Stadium in the capital on Saturday.
The Brazilian outfit take on MSP
Higher Secondary School from Kerala in Monday’s final. Indian Air Force, organisers of the tournament, have thrown the gates open for spectators.
The winners’ strategy of keeping possession of the ball plus the native brilliance of the Brazil side in the end proved to be decisive. Colegio Estadul were able to cash in on this and a sublime moment from Romulo gave them the lead in the ninth minute itself.
Receiving the ball from the centre, the forward sidestepped the defence and slotted the ball in. A counter attack from the Indonesians gave them a chance to reduce the margin but striker Fadel Ali sent the ball just wide.
The Indonesians continued to attack and it paid off when Egi Maulana Vikki made the most of a deflection following a free- kick and found the equaliser minutes before the half- time whistle.
The change of ends saw a completely transformed Colegio Estadul team and they used the header to a great effect when Alex Da Conceicao took back the lead in the 45th minute. Loran Romualdo then headed in a free- kick in the 63rd minute to round off the tally.
The Brazilians were thereafter content to keep posses- sion of the ball mostly in their own territory to frustrate the Indonesian school till time ran out.