Hosts St Joseph’s Boys’ High School edged out St Germain High School by a solitary goal to enter the final of the Centenary Shield hockey tournament for Seniors at the KSHA Stadium on Monday.
Forward Abhishek P N netted the vital goal in the 16th minute to signal the end of the road for the defending champions. St Joseph’s will play Baldwins for the title on Tuesday.
The Josephites wrested the initiative early on with frequent sallies. Only a brilliant save by Germain custodian Narendra Singh off Abhishek’s fierce hit denied Joseph’s the lead in the 15th minute.
But the alert forward made amends in the very next minute when he trapped a rebound off a save from Narendra to slot in the crucial goal.
A dry second half saw both sides struggling to strike rhythm except for some breakaway efforts. But in the end, Joseph’s walked away with a well-deserved win.
Baldwins beaten
Earlier, St Germain scored an upset 3-1 semifinal victory over Baldwin Boys’ High School in the Fr Eric Vaz Memorial tournament for juniors to book a berth in Tuesday’s final against St Joseph’s.
Baldwins started brilliantly with a fifth minute goal by skipper Anup from the team’s third penalty corner. But just three minutes later, Germains returned the favour as Devaiah K  T turned in a pass from Albin Felix.
The aggressive Baldwins were caught off guard by a penalty corner goal by Appanna A A in the 17th minute, very much against the run of the play. More shock was in store as Nanaiah B U extended German’s lead in the 25th minute and the subsequent pressure subdued Baldwins.