In the other semi-final, St Mary's (ISC) prevailed over St Francis D'Assisi by a solitary first-half goal.

It was perhaps the worst hiding the Bosco boys ever received in their impressive football history, but it came at the hands of a team that served a heady combination of flair in attack and solidity in defence. The Bandra boys has unfailingly won titles for their school for the past five years. It was not hard to see why.

Minutes after the game started, Stanislaus forwards Yohann Pereira, Delano D'Souza and Kyle Mascarenhas were making the Bosco defence look like porous Swiss cheese -- too many holes.

Backing the troika was Stanislaus' strapping centre-half Gavin Aguiar -- easily the most impressive player of the tournament -- and the deft-dribblingVikram Noronha to his left.

Another player who caught the eye was the quick-silver Jonathan Fernandes, who lent the defence charm and glamour rarely seen in the usually grim and practical back-benchers.

The first goal came from Delano D'Souza's boots, after Yohann did the hard work on the left flank. The second was a beauty, underlining Gavin Aguiar's power. A 30-yarder from mid-field boomed past the flailing hands of Bosco custodian Swapnil Pereira.

Minutes later, Yohann got his first, zipping in from the left and scoring on the run. Bosco pulled one back soon after, through Kunal Kotian's header, the first time in the league that Stanislaus 'keeper Carl Mascarenhas was beaten. But prospects of revival and a grand showdown were soon scotched, when Yohann went around a sluggish Clayton Albuquerque to score his second. He could have completed the hat-trick, but, with only the goalkeeper to beat, shot wide.

Stanislaus chose to withdraw their forces, and gave the boys on the bench a chance to go home andtell their parents about the role they played in the match.

Even then, defender Jonathan rightfully provided the sign-off, scoring a solo after running unchallenged through the centre of the field.

MARY'S ISC WIN: An opportunistic header by St Mary's Benze Ninan early in the first half proved crucial in the second semi-final. With Benze, Farshid Cooper, Brian Gia and Karan Durante doing a good job in attack, the pressure on Assisi never relented. Karan Fernandes, Vivek Gupta and Anmol Karanam were impressive in defence, but the Assisi forward line looked unlikely to make any inroads. The only chance came in the second half, when Liston Fonseca pulled one back on the right flank and minused to Vishal Haria. Haria's shot sailed over the bar.

For Assisi, Nishit Karkera and Savio Pereira did well in the midfield. Adam Alfonso ploughed the left-wing tirelessly, while Frankson Thattara, Harish Nair and Rakesh Kharekar were solid in defence. Alas, despite coach John Alphonso substituting the forwards,they could not score.