Aditya Birla hosted a football tournament at the Cooperage stadium on the 19th of October. This tournament meant a lot for the U19 boy’s team because it was the first tournament victory of the year. In this article, I will go through the order and events of every game played by Ascend throughout the tournament. 

 In total, the tournament had 8 teams, and our first match was against the Cathedral and John Connon School. The majority of Ascend’s team know and are friends with the Cathedral players, which made this match one we were looking forward to. There was a clear tension on the pitch between the teams and every player was giving it their all. In the second half of the game, Aarez Zaidi, Ascend’s captain, made an inward run from the left wing to the centre of the opposition’s third. He noticed a gap in between the two centre-backs and played a pass which I chased down. I ran towards the goal and placed the ball into the far post – making the score 1-0 in Ascend’s favour to end the match. The second game was against Hillspring. In this match, Ascend dominated the field, scoring 2 goals and conceding none. The first goal was scored by Aarez as the ball was distributed through the centre of the pitch and shifted from the half line to the opponent’s goal. The assist was a well-placed pass by Yajat Daga as he kicked it just right to fit between the two defenders and onto Aarez’s feet. The second goal was scored by Siddharth Piramal on a rebound after a freekick taken by Vir Desai. This win meant that the team had secured a place in the semi-final of the tournament. In the excitement of their performance, the team played their third game against ABWA B in which Ascend drew first blood by a corner which was played into the box by Yajat and a strong header which was taken by Aarez. However, after our uplifting goal, the team felt a bit overconfident and didn’t play as seriously as we maybe should have. Eventually, this led to ABWA equalizing towards the end of the game. 

Despite an unfortunate end to the group stage, the team had passed to the semis with flying colours having lost none of their games. In the semi-final, Ascend was matched up against rivals B.D. Somani. Historically the two teams haven’t been fond of one another, and the match was dubbed a derby. As the match kicked off, it seemed as though Ascend had control over the first half, being able to counter most of B.D’s offence. In one of the counters, a ball was played to Aarez who was sprinting on the left wing. As he cut in, I slowly drifted away from the defender and towards the back post of the goal. With perfect precision, Aarez played a wonderful cross which I managed to put into the back of the net with a header. This goal boosted our spirits and made the team a lot more confident going into the second half. However, B.D. came into the second half with a new form of aggression. In fact, the B.D. Somani captain, Ishaan Ruia, had an aerial clash with 13 year old Ranvir Chona. This had the potential to be a very scary injury and it worried many of the players. No one ended up being seriously injured, but with Ranvir resting on the sidelines, B.D. Somani’s Aarav Agarwal scored in a counterattack. The score was now 1-1 and the intensity on the pitch was heightened. However, the odds shifted in Ascend’s favour when B.D. Somani players started getting into a verbal disagreement with Ascend coaches and players. This kind of unsportsmanlike activity provoked the referee to hand out a red card which meant that B.D. would now be playing with only 10 players on the pitch. After a pretty stagnant ending to the half, the referee blew the whistle and informed us that the game would now be decided via penalties. For the average sportsman, penalties can be extremely stressful and often are more about the mind. However, the U19 team didn’t show a hint of fear as Dheer made a vital save and one of the opposition players skyed the ball over the goal. This left Ascend with an easy pass into the finals by scoring all the necessary penalties and matching up with the hosts of the tournament, Aditya Birla.

For the first time in many months, Ascend had found themselves in a finalist position eager to bring home a trophy. Despite it being an ABWA-led tournament, the home advantage was not as intimidating as we had expected. The game was extremely competitive and had countless chances. Both teams were in a deadlock and none of the chances were getting translated into goals. The game eventually went to penalties and players Vir Desai, Aarez Zaidi, Siddharth Piramal and Yajat Daga were mentally prepared to step up to the spot and help the team inch closer to a victory. In an exhilarating contest, all of Ascend’s boys in blue managed to score their penalties, while ABWA was struggling with consistency. In the end, it was Yajat’s penalty which mattered the most. As it drifted into the right side of the net and past the goalline, the faces of Ascend players and supporters lit up in excitement. The team ran towards Yajat and Dheer to celebrate, having accomplished a large victory for the school. Ascend’s team captain Aarez had some thoughts to share on the victory, “Being that it is my last year in Ascend, I am glad that we finally have something to show for the talent we put out onto the pitch.” He also commented on a positive note, stating that he is eager to win more trophies and tournaments in the future. 

Ascend has really showcased a tremendous amount of strength and resilience as far as sports are concerned. Success is written in the books for our school and now it is time to reap the rewards. This tournament is just the beginning of a very promising year for the U19 football team. Congratulations to the team and here’s to many more!