CHANDIGARH: St John’s High School maintained their monopoly by winning the title for the five time in a row by beating hosts St Kabir High School, both of Sector 26, by 3-1 in the final of the St Kabir Football Trophy for Under-13 which was conducted under the aegis of the Chandigarh Football Association at the St Kabir School ground here on Wednesday.

Watched by a goodly crowd, St John’s scored through Harshil whose shot was deflected into the goal by defender Abihnav, Krishna and Harshil. The lone goal for St Kabir was scored by Manveer.

With better coordination and quick short passes, St John’s School dominated the game and had more opportunities to score. However, twice the woodwork denied them goals and some occasions, their forwards either shot wide or straight into the goalkeeper’s waiting hands.

St John’s got the lead in an unexpected manner. Harshil’s curling cross was going out but St Kabir School right stopper took a semi-turn in his effort to clear the ball. However, he in his anxiety guided the ball into his own goal in the eighth minute.

This probably put extra pressure on the hosts’ players. St John’s School got their second goal in the 25th minute. Sufi initiated a move and crossed it to Hunerveer in the midfield. Hunerveer gave a fine pass to Krishna who unleashed a powerful shot which booked no denial from the St Kabir defence.

St John’s maintaind their pressure and in the 40th minute they established a commanding 3-0 lead. Gurteshwar Singh tested St Kabir’s advancing goalkeeper Ridhamjit Singh. Off the rebound Harshil capitalized on the opportunity to score with a straight drive.

Despite three goals down, St Kabir School boys did not lose heart. They re-organised their game and starting their powerful forays into the rival territory. Their move bore fruits in the 55th minute while a sizzling long ranger by Manveer foxed St John’s defence. St Kabir students which turned up in a large number started encouraging their players with the slogan “East or West, Kabir is the Best.”

At the other end, St John’s had another chance to increase their margin mideway through the game when Gurteshwar’s powerful hit on the run struck the pole before the ball went out. It was a close shave for St Kabir.

Vivek High School chairman H S Mamik, who is also president of Independent Schools Association, was the chief guest and distributed the prizes. New Public School principal R D Singh also gave away the prizes.

Teams: St John’s: Ramandeep, Angad, Lalit, Shivam, Hunerver, Krishna, Harshil, Sufi, Vivek, Gurteshwar and Karan.

St Kabir: Sahil Arora, Manveer Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Uday Marriya, Rahul Gandhi, Aman Walia, Amitoj Singh, Arnav Nagpal, Rhyithmjit Singh, Gunbir Singh and Abhinav Kheterpal.

Centre Refree: Shiv Onkar. Assistant Referees: Daljit Singh and Sanjeev Kumar. Technical Table: Amrik Singh.